


Pulled in Two: Ginny versus Draco and Leo

by Zakaira



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Family Drama, M/M, Mpreg, Romance, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-02-06 17:56:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 203,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1867113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zakaira/pseuds/Zakaira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is being pulled in two by Ginny and Draco. Draco schemes to get in the way and Ginny acts like a spoiled brat. Ginny is Harry’s perfect match; she’s beautiful, smart, funny, and was on the right side of the war. Harry and Draco share a son, Leo, created with black magic. Harry, Leo, and Teddy are becoming a family; Draco’s great with the babies, but Ginny is not. Harry can talk to Draco, but not to Ginny. Draco’s not what he wanted, but is what he wants, not Ginny, no matter how much he wants to want her. </p><p>Warnings: Alcohol induced frotting (dubcon), Slash, Mpreg (Draco), Heterosexual. Snarky, Conniving !Draco. Annoying, Spoiled !Ginny. Mildly Cheating (kissing, touching, frotting) !Harry. Bottom !Harry and Bottom !Draco.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Author’s Note: Neither Ginny or Draco are evil in this story, but he is sarcastic, scheming, manipulative, and lies when it suits him and she is bossy, commanding, self-centered, borderline greedy, and immature.

* * *

 

            “Follow me,” said Narcissa, leading the way across the hall. “My son, Draco, is home. If that is Harry Potter, he will know.”

            Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dean, and the goblin Griphook were forced to follow Narcissa into the drawing room at Malfoy Manor by Greyback and his fellow snatchers. Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were sitting in a pair of high-backed chairs in front of the ornate fireplace when they entered.

            “What is this?” Lucius asked in his drawling voice.

            “They say they have Potter,” said Narcissa’s cold voice.

            “You fetch Draco; I’ll see to the prisoners,” Lucius replied.

            Narcissa gave a curt nod, before disappearing out the way they came. Bellatrix, meanwhile, was circling the group with a tilt to her head and a crazy look in her eye. There was some chatter then, between Lucius, Greyback, and the snatchers. Lucius wasn’t pleased with having the filth in his home, but Greyback was unwilling to leave without full payment. Lucius, of course, needed proof before paying, especially because in his swollen state, Harry so little resembled Undesirable No. 1.

            The argument was interrupted when Narcissa returned downstairs with Draco, but they weren’t alone, for Draco carried a baby in his arms. The baby was young, but capable of holding its head of raven hair up, as Draco carried the child under the armpits with one arm. A pair of bright green eyes flickered to Harry’s for a moment, before moving on to take in the other sights in the room. The child was small, definitely under a year, but precisely how old, Harry couldn’t say.

            “Well boy?” rasped the werewolf.

            “Is this supposed to be him, then?” Draco asked, approaching Harry, but keeping four feet back. He tilted his head from side to side, as if examining Harry’s swollen face. Harry, for his part, refused to make eye contact, never letting his glance fall closer to Draco than the baby.

            “Well Draco? Is it? Is it Harry Potter?” Lucius asked after a few minutes, when Draco still hadn’t provided an answer.

            “I can’t—I can’t be sure,” said Draco.

            “Well ask him something only the real Harry would know,” Narcissa replied.

            “Alright,” Draco told his mother, before turning back to the prisoners. “This is Harry Potter’s baby in my arms. Harry ought to know what his son’s name is. You there, what is his name?”

            This statement and subsequent question were so out of left field that all Harry could do was splutter.

            “That’s not exactly fair, now is it Draco?” Bellatrix asked in her high pitched squeal of a voice. “Potter never met the baby; unless you told him the child’s name before you left school, how would he know?”

            “I did tell him,” Draco insisted to his aunt, but shrugged, and turned back to ask another anyway. “Alright then, the Dark Lord has tasked me with looking after Harry Potter’s love child. If this _boy_ doesn’t know from whom the child was stolen, then he’s an imposter for certain.”  
            “Yes, that ought to do. Answer him boy! Who is it?” Bellatrix asked with a cackle.

            “Ginny?” Harry asked in a dreading whisper. He didn’t understand how it was possible, because they’d been safe every time they’d been intimate and she’d never said anything all summer. She was the only one he’d ever been with, so it had to be her. But if it was her, then what did that mean? Had she been captured? Tortured? Murdered? Their child torn from her grasp? He looked now at the child for any sign of her features; the curve of her forehead or the shape of her cheek. But there was no one there but him and his father in the face, except for his mother’s eyes.

            “Ginny Weasley?” Draco asked incredulously. “Everyone at school knew Potter was dating that hag. He doesn’t know; he’s a fake.”

            “Give ‘im another chance!” Scabbior, one of the snatchers, insisted.

            “Well, give the boy another go; maybe Potter was sleeping around,” a second snatcher said.

            “Cho?” Harry asked instinctively, knowing that it couldn’t be, because they’d never had sex.

            Draco laughed at that. “Cho!?! Now that is the answer of an imposter if ever I heard one. Why he’s nothing more than a lookalike sent by that meddling little club of Dumbledore’s.”

            “And the girl? What about the girl? She’s the mudblood, isn’t she?” Greyback asked.

            “Don’t know…” Draco drawled, shifting the baby to his other arm. “Say something mudblood.”

            When Hermione didn’t speak, Bellatrix jabbed her wand into Hermione’s throat. “Speak you little wench or I’ll slit your throat,” Bellatrix threatened.

            “No, please, don’t!” Hermione screeched in fear.

            “Definitely an imposter. And the red-head; why he doesn’t even _look_ like the Weasel! Lock them up until they’re willing to talk and reveal their scheme and tell us why they are trying to break in here by impersonating Potter and his little friends,” Draco said coldly.

            And so the group was marched down to the cellar under the drawing room to join Luna and Ollivander. They scrambled to cut their bonds with an old nail, while listening to a conversation held topside. Apparently Draco wanted to question the prisoners himself, Narcissa thought it too dangerous, Bellatrix didn’t trust him and was suspicious, and Lucius said to let Draco go. They paused in their actions, Ron jumping to put his light back in his deluminator, as they heard the trapdoor squeak open once again. That was followed by the sound of footsteps on the hard stone and the faint light of a wand. Then Draco was there on the other side of the bars.

            “Hold tight and don’t cause any trouble; I’ll come back after everyone’s asleep to let you go,” Draco whispered. Now that he was closer to the bars, it was clear he hadn’t brought the baby with him.

            “Why?” was all Harry could ask.

            “I’ll explain everything then, just go along with my ruse for now.

            “Pretend to fight,” Hermione whispered.

            “What?” Draco asked.

            “We could hear you, so they should be able to hear us!” Hermione hissed. “They might get suspicious if they don’t hear you fighting.”

            “What makes you think I’m going to tell you anything, you pompous little prick!?!” Harry shouted, catching on.

            “The _real_ Harry Potter would _never_ talk like that!” Draco shouted back.

            “How would you know? You haven’t got two brain cells to rub together!” Harry retorted.

            “This is pointless. I hope you rot in here; perhaps you’ll be more willing to talk tomorrow,” Draco said, before turning on his heel and ascending the staircase.

            Once the trapdoor was heard closing behind Draco, the friends returned to getting their ropes severed. They could hear an argument upstairs in which Draco insisted that further questioning was useless, while Bellatrix wanted to torture answers out of the prisoners. Ultimately the baby started crying, Lucius said it was his house, and Bellatrix and the snatchers were ordered out. The snatchers were paid the standard rewards for delinquent students and told to be happy with that, after falling for the ruse and leading the enemy into Malfoy Manor.

            It was hours before the voices upstairs died down and the inhabitants of the house went to sleep. Long after the house went quiet there was still no sign of Draco and Harry began to think that Draco had lied to them. Then they heard footsteps, the squeak of the hatch, and the sound of someone descending the stairs. Draco appeared by the gate, once again carrying the baby, this time on his shoulder. Even more oddly, he was patting the baby on the back and quietly singing a tune, “Over the Hills and Far Away; the dragon shall scorch my wizard’s cap off.”

            “Malfoy!” Ron called out, the first to see the shadowy figure in the dim light coming from one small window. He’d long since put away the light for the night.

            “Draco?” Harry asked tiredly, standing up from where he’d been resting his chin on his knees and walking to the gate. “I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

            “I had to wait until Leo woke up so they wouldn’t notice me coming downstairs,” Draco explained, continuing to pat the baby’s back.

            “Leo?” Harry asked.

            “I had to name him something that reminded me of you, so that they wouldn’t think twice about him being yours. He’s not you know; yours that is.”

            “Then why? How?” Harry asked.

            “Harry, I wish to speak with you alone. Do I have your permission to cast a privacy spell?” Draco asked and Harry agreed. He cast a muffliato, to prevent the others from hearing.

            “It’s done, now tell me what’s going on,” Harry insisted.

            “The Dark Lord gave me two assignments to carry out last year. One, as you know, was to kill Dumbledore.”

            “Which you weren’t able to do on your own,” Harry interjected.

            “Yes, well, it got done; that’s the important thing. My other assignment was to seduce you and get myself pregnant with your baby. That, of course, goes against everything I believe in as a Malfoy, so I didn’t do it.” Draco paused here for a minute. “But I had to do something; I couldn’t refuse to his face.” Another pause. “I got myself pregnant without you and told the Dark Lord I’d done it. I took a single hair from one of our fights and with it, I performed a bit of black magic to make my son the spitting image of you; that’s why he looks like you. The Dark Lord thinks he’s yours. He plans to use my Leo to lure you into a trap. When he’s ready, he’ll reveal the fact he has your son and force you to come running to save Leo. Only Leo isn’t yours and he doesn’t know that.

            “Leo is, however, mine,” Draco continued. “I’m letting you go to protect him. If the Dark Lord were to find out I lied and that he isn’t yours, Leo will be dead. He’d _murder_ my baby. I _can’t_ let that happen. I _won’t_ hand over my baby. And if he somehow gets my Leo and sets his little trap, you _better_ rescue _my son, Potter_.” Harry’s name was spit like venom. “If you don’t, I will _personally track you down and murder you myself_. Is that clear?”

            “Not entirely. I must say I’m still confused by the fact you have a child at all, Malfoy.”

            “I was pregnant already that night on the tower.”

            Male pregnancy was known in the wizarding world, but it wasn’t something often talked about. It was considered rude to talk about it in public and Harry had never taken the time to read up on it, so he didn’t know how it was possible. He did, however, know that it wasn’t impossible.

            “So you are willing to let me and my friends go in order to protect the kid, huh?”

            “You have to take them all with you—they’re witnesses—they have to go.” Draco pointed to the old man.

            “Well yes, I wouldn’t leave without any of them.”

            “Good. Now these wands came with you lot from the snatchers,” Draco reached with his free hand into his robes pocket and pulled out a bundle of wands. “I trust that if I lower the anti-apparition wards you will all be able to apparate out of here.”

            “Yes,” Harry answered, grateful for a way out.

            “And I have your word that none of you will attempt to hurt me or my son on your way out?”

            “Yes.”

            “And that you, Harry Potter, will do everything in your power to protect my son.”

            “Yes.”

            Draco took some time to consider Harry’s promise, before saying, “Not good enough; I require the Unbreakable Vow.”

            “What do I have to vow?”

            “To protect my son with your life.”

            “This could be a trap.”  
            “I already told you it was.”

            “And yet you still expect me to pledge my life for your son?”

            “If you aren’t willing to do it, then you cannot possibly be the real Harry Potter. Perhaps I should let my Aunt Bella in to question you after all…” Draco took a step back, as if he was going to leave.

            “No, I’ll do it,” Harry said desperately. “But you have to vow to do your best to keep him out of harm’s way.”

            “I’d never give my son over to him. The fact that he expects that of me shows that he has no understanding of what it means to be a pureblood.”

            “Then you’ll agree?” Harry asked.

            “If you will?”

            “Yes.”

            “I’ll cancel the muffliato spell and you get the mudblood to cast the vow.”

            “Wait.”

            “Yes?” Draco asked.

            “Come with us. We’ll protect you and the baby. If you’re worried about your parents, we’ll protect them too. The middle of this war is no place for a baby to be.”

            “It isn’t ideal, that’s for sure, but we’ve been safe hiding in plain sight so far. Although, that probably won’t be the case once they find out I let you lot go. After you are gone, I’ll gather my parents and tell them it’s time to leave. My father has a safe house ready for us. Now will you agree to the bond or not?”

            Harry agreed and it was done. He had to plead with Hermione to go along with it, but they really didn’t have time to hash it all out. In the end he’d begged her to trust him and she had. With her own wand, which Draco had given back to her, she cast a two-way Unbreakable Vow in which both Harry and Draco promised to protect little Leo Malfoy.

            Once it was done, Draco gave Harry one last piece of advice, getting close to Harry in order to minimize knowledge of his betrayal of the Dark Lord. The baby came in contact with Harry’s arm in the process and a slobber covered hand reached out and smacked Harry’s neck as Draco whispered directly into Harry’s ear, “Whatever it is they are hiding or protecting or whatever, it is in my Aunt’s vault at Gringotts. The Lestrange family vault in the oldest section of the bank and it’s guarded by a blind dragon.” Then he left the rest of the wands on the ground and disappeared back up the stairs with the baby.

            Hermione summoned the other wands and handed them out. They paired up and disapparated to Shell Cottage, escaping from Malfoy Manor without a single casualty, the Sword of Gryffindor safe in Hermione’s purse, which was tucked into her sock all along; there was no reason to take it out and they hadn’t been foolishly polishing it when Harry said the name. And best of all, they now had a clue to the location of the next Horcrux.

 

* * *

 

Author’s Note: There is just this one AU chapter of the war. Next the story jumps to after the war where the meat of the story takes place. Please Review!


	2. Chapter2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the title of the story; I like this one better. This is still the same story previous titled Ginny Weasley versus the Dragon and his Hatchling. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.

            “Harry, there’s a wizard in the square outside,” Ginny said, peering out the drawing room window of Grimmauld Place, holding the curtains open as Harry returned fresh from the loo. They had been hanging out earlier, just enjoying each other’s company, until nature called.

            The war was over and a sense of hope and celebration was intermingled in the summer air with the sense of loss, from all of the witches, wizards, and muggles who died in the war. But it was finally in the past, and the knowledge that Harry had once and for all defeated Lord Voldemort was a great relief to all. Narcissa Malfoy hadn’t been there to lie for him in the Forbidden Forest, but the incompetent Peter Pettigrew mistakenly pronounced him dead and Hagrid was ordered to carry the body up to the castle. In the end, Voldemort had the Elder wand, but the wand still owed it’s allegiance to Draco Malfoy. Because Draco shared a bidirectional unbreakable vow with Harry, the wand choose Harry over Voldemort. The powerful Dark Lord was defeated with a simple Expelliarmus and a rebounding Avada Kedavra.

            “Who is it?” Harry asked, coming to stand behind her and look over her shoulder.

            “Don’t know.”

            “Then how do you know it’s a wizard? Could be a muggle.” Taking in the silhouette with a young child on the hip, he amended, “Could be a regular mum or dad out with their kid.”

            “Yeah, except for the impervious charm keeping them dry, instead of an umbrella.”

            It had been rainy almost every day for the last month and today wasn’t any different. Whole hordes of Dementors were being destroyed every day, but the chill, gloom, and mist they bred lingered all the more in the air as the spectral corpses dissipated. The rain combined with the summer heat to produce stifling humidity half the time, although today it was just bearably warm with the wet.

            Come to mention it, neither humanoid figure carried an umbrella, despite the circular-shaped dry ring around their location. The adult was tall and slender, possibly trying to shield the child from the rain as the body bowed over the child’s. A muggle probably would’ve worn a long trench coat in this weather, but this person couldn’t have been wearing more than a sweater. “Right, who do you think it is?”

            Ginny shrugged and said, “It better not be a reporter.”

            Harry let out a huff, indicating his annoyance at the thought. “Well whoever it is, they’ve got a kid, so I can’t leave ‘em out there.”

            And then Harry, his wand in hand, was trotting down the stairs of the old house, past the house elf heads on the wall and the portrait of Sirius’ mum in the hallway. He grabbed his umbrella from the troll-leg stand and flung open the door, opening the umbrella to cover his head as he stepped out onto the front step. He walked down the three stairs and stood on the path, knowing that that was the limit of the Fidelius. Whoever the mysterious guest was, he or she would now be able to see him.

            The figure continued to stare off into space for a minute, not noticing Harry immediately. That pissed him off, because it was wet and windy out and he wasn’t dressed for this. He cast an impervious of his own along with a drying charm, to deal with the rain the wind blew past his umbrella, and that seemed to draw the other person’s attention. The head snapped around in his direction, going past him for an instant, before turning back to look at him. Whoever it was straightened up, before walking forwards.

            The first feature Harry noticed as the pair grew nearer was the greyish gleam of blond hair in the gloom. Then he realized that the child really was quite young, just a baby covered in a blanket, and far too little to be dragged out in weather like this. As he was mentally chastising the parent, the features of Draco Malfoy came into focus. Draco was still using his body to shield the child as much as possible from the wind, the impervious charm traveling with them and blocking out the rain from their immediate vicinity. It wasn’t until they were right in front of Harry that he could see a bit of black hair through a gap as the blanket shifted. He assumed that it was the same Baby Leo he’d seen before at Malfoy Manor.

            “What are you doing here, Malfoy?” Harry asked, eyes darting back and forth between Draco and Leo, implying that Draco was a bad parent for having the child out in weather like this.

            A gust of warm soggy air hit them, hair blowing into eyes. Draco blinked, shook off the few droplets of water that passed through the impervious charm, and brushed his damp hair out of his face. “Let me in,” he ordered, eyes darting between Harry and the blanket covering Leo, as if implying that Harry _had_ to let him in, because of the child.

            Harry huffed and held out his hand for Draco to take, knowing that as one of the many Secret Keepers, physical contact would be the quickest way to get the pair past the Fidelius.

            Draco took Harry’s hand and allowed himself to be led into the house. He followed Harry past Ginny, who was standing in the hallway, down the rear staircase, and into the kitchen. He sat on the hard wooden bench with his child in his lap, flinging the damp blanket onto the table to reveal the relatively dry figure underneath.

            “Why are you here?” Harry asked again, chucking the umbrella into Kreacher’s waiting arms. The elf would put it back for him.

            Draco cast drying and warming charms on both himself and his baby. “Leo and I just returned today from our safe house in Austria, only to find that the Ministry won’t let us into the Manor. Apparently they are investigating. Austria is a bit far for return travel with the baby,” Draco said, implying that Harry _had_ to take them in in their hour of need. “That’s where we went after letting your lot escape, you know, to Austria. We packed up that night and made it look like we were captured and taken hostage after prisoners escaped from the cellar.”

            “Where are your parents?” Ginny asked.

            “Still in Austria. My father wasn’t entirely certain he’d be welcome and my parents don’t hate it there the way I do. Why are _you_ here?” Draco asked in return.

            “I _live_ here now,” Ginny answered. It wasn’t entirely true. Technically she was just visiting. She wasn’t quite yet seventeen, so she still lived with her parents at the Burrow until the start of her Seventh year. But it was Harry’s house and as his girlfriend, she felt entitled to the place, even if her parents weren’t okay with her spending the night without Ron and Hermione present.

            Ron and Hermione were currently off to Australia on a mission to restore her parents’ memories. She had wiped all trace of herself from their memory in an effort to protect them before the war. Now that the war was over, she wanted them back. Returning memories was a complicated and dangerous process, but without the threat of Voldemort hanging over their heads, they could seek help from the proper authorities. A trained mind healer just might be able to put the missing memories back without causing permanent brain damage to the pair of muggles.

            “Is he okay?” Harry asked, indicating the baby, who hadn’t moved.

            “He’s asleep, no thanks to you. Just how long were you planning on leaving us out on your bloody stoop?” Draco asked indignantly, as if he expected Harry to know he was there sooner.

            “How was I to know you were there? You didn’t even bother to owl,” Harry replied, crossing his arms over his chest defensively, wand still in hand.

            “I couldn’t knock with that curse you’ve put on the place, now could I? I wouldn’t even have been able to find it, if I hadn’t already been here before. And I didn’t exactly bring an owl back with me on my transcontinental journey. Excuse me for limiting the nappy bag to, oh I don’t know…nappies,” Draco said with a sneer. The fact that he hadn’t been to Grimmauld Place since he was a kid hadn’t made finding the missing townhouse any easier. But he had known the street name and once outside, he recognized the general region where his great aunt’s house had been.

            “Are they staying, Harry?” Ginny asked, turning to her boyfriend.

            Harry looked at Ginny, before looking back at Draco and the child. “Do you have anywhere else to go, Malfoy?” he asked.

            “No,” Draco replied firmly. He didn’t know whether that was strictly true or not, because he hadn’t bothered looking up any of his friends; most were locked up or on the run, but some of them were probably still around. He’d gone to the Manor first and when turned away, had decided Harry was going to take them in, without considering other options.

            “Well then I guess they’re staying,” Harry answered Ginny.

            There was a moment more of dithering about, broken by another scathing rebuke from Draco, “Are you going to show us to our rooms or are you going to leave me to hold the sleeping infant all night?”

            Harry didn’t miss the presumption. He rubbed the back of his neck, grumbled to himself, and then proceeded to lead the Malfoys upstairs. He whispered to Ginny on the third floor landing, trying to decide where to put them, but Draco solved the problem for them by nosing around into each of the rooms and choosing the one he liked best. Draco marked his territory with his sleeping child in a portable cot and a golden snitch covered nappy bag on the bed. Already knowing the layout of the house, Draco strolled down to the drawing room on the second floor and sat down in the armchair like he owned the place.

            Ginny and Harry followed after, stopping on the landing right outside the drawing room. She eyed him, he eyed her back, and she upped the ante by silently waving in Draco’s direction and bugging out her eyes, to indicate that _he_ was to do something. He sighed, but turned and headed into the drawing room, pausing in the doorway to stare incredulously at the unwanted visitor who had made himself at home.

            “This place is rather shabby, eh Potter?” Draco asked with a sneer. “It’s worse than my great aunt’s stale armpits when she went in for a hug. I am not pleased to see that you have kept everything exactly the way she left it.”

            “What the fuck is wrong with you, Malfoy?” Harry snapped, his aggravation getting the best of him.

            “Oi, watch your language, Potter! Or have you forgotten that there are children in the house.” Draco’s eyes flickered from Harry to the hall, back to Harry, then to Ginny, before finally settling back on Harry, as if to indicate just who the other child was. He of course ignored his own earlier cuss word and acted as if Harry was the only guilty one.

            Ginny didn’t miss the insult. She screamed and launched herself at Draco. It was only thanks to Harry’s seeker’s reflexes that he managed to grab her and hold her back. She was loud enough to wake the baby in the room directly overhead, who let out a loud, piercing wail.

            “Now look what you’ve done, Weasley!” Draco rose, ducking under Harry and Ginny to gain the hallway. As he headed upstairs in the direction of the bedroom, he called over his shoulder in a derisive tone, “And I thought all Weasleys were meant to be good with children.”

            Needless to say, Ginny was rather angry at Draco. Harry was too, but there was the baby to think about. The soft sound of Draco’s singing a lullaby could soon be heard, implying that he once again had the child in his arms. There would be no tackling him as long as the baby was in the way, so it was up to Harry to calm Ginny down.

            Several minutes later found Harry and Ginny cuddled on the sofa together, Harry stroking her vivid red hair and saying, “Merlin I can’t wait to marry you. We can have our own raven haired green eyed babies.” He’d just got done explaining to her what he knew of Draco and Leo; she hadn’t missed the similarities between him and the baby or the implications of that.

            “Over my dead body. If you think I’m going to be your little tart on the side and raise your children in silence while you go off and marry someone else, you’ve got another thing coming, _Harry_. Your cock is good, but not _that_ good. I don’t care how many Dark Lords you’ve slain,” Draco lied smoothly from the doorway, interrupting.

            “What are you talking about, Malfoy?” Harry asked exasperated. He was going to have to cast a silencing charm and _then_ kill this git, so as not to wake the baby.

            “You’ve not told her, have you?” Draco asked, looking from Harry, to Ginny, and back to Harry.

            Ginny’s jaw was still dropped from Draco’s first statement. She picked it back up slowly and asked sharply, “Told me what?”

            “That we’ve been sleeping together since sixth year. That that’s his baby in the other room. And that he only started going out with you, to hide the fact that he was fucking me,” Draco said with a sneer.

            Ginny’s face had a look of betrayal on it. She ran forward and slapped Draco across the face on her way out. Harry looked back angrily at Draco as he ran after her. He was too late though and she disappeared through the kitchen floo, her destination of home echoing through the room.

            Harry decided to go after Ginny later, once he knew what Draco’s problem was. He stalked his way back up the stairs, throwing a silencing spell in the direction of the baby, as he cornered Draco. Draco had been relaxing casually in the armchair in the drawing room, but rose and countered Harry’s angry stance with a smirk.

            “What the _fuck_ is your problem, Malfoy?”

            “Just what I said: I’ve had your baby and I won’t be playing second fiddle while you run off and marry some skirt. I expect Leo to be taken care of and not to be cheated out of his inheritance. And I _won’t_ be playing step-father to a bunch of Weasley-children either, so you can just get that out of your head now.”

            “Leo is _not_ my son.”

            “That’s not what his birth certificate states.”

            “Well I’ll contest it.”

            “Which will be a colossal waste of time and money, because the paternity test will prove he is.”

            “You said yourself, _Malfoy_ , that he isn’t mine.”

            “I lied.” Draco said, his smirk becoming even more pronounced, contorting the red hand-shaped mark forming on his face.

            “That’s not possible.”

            “It is. I had to use dark magic to do it, but with the Dark Lord threatening to kill me if I didn’t, I hardly think I’ll be punished for it.

            “But you said you only used the curse to make him _look_ like me,” Harry pleaded, feeling desperate to prove Draco wrong.

            “Making him biologically yours had that effect, didn’t it? I had to lie to someone. It was either you or the Dark Lord.” Draco shrugged. “I chose you. Can you blame me? The Dark Lord would have found out the lie and killed us both. I couldn’t risk it; not with him,” Draco said, motioning with his chin in the direction of the upper bedroom, where Leo once again slept.

            The truth of that statement hit Harry like a load of bricks and he sagged backwards, stumbling into the sofa. He sat down, the fight gone from him. “I don’t want to share a child with you, Malfoy.”

            “The feeling is mutual. I thought about letting you sign over your parental rights to me, but I decided against it. It’s not fair to him and I won’t let you off that easy. He deserves two parents. I created him to buy _you_ time to defeat the Dark Lord; now that you’ve done it, I won’t have you casting him aside.”

            “You created him to save your own skin,” Harry accused bitingly.

            “And yours. The Dark Lord never would have been so lenient on all those blood traitor friends of yours if he didn’t think he had you right where he wanted you. While you were out hiding in the forest or whatever it was you were doing, he was setting the trap for you. And all the while, _I_ was assuring him that I had Leo right there, ready to act as bait. I risked _my_ son’s life for your cause. I even told you where one of those _things_ were.”

            “Why?” Harry asked, suddenly perplexed. Draco wasn’t on their side, so he couldn’t think of a reason why Draco would risk Leo’s life like that.

            Draco huffed in frustration, throwing up his hands, and looking away. A minute later, he looked back at Harry with his answer. “Because he was crazy! I knew he was mental the moment he asked it of me! I didn’t know what I was going to do, but in the end I didn’t see any other choice than to give in and do what he wanted. My father wasn’t here to help me, thanks to you and your bloody friends. At first I was only stalling, but once my father was returned to us, it was decided that we would help you. Everyone knew that you were the one who had to defeat him.”

            “How old is the kid?” Harry asked, changing the subject, because he didn’t know what to say to Draco’s confession. If Leo really was his, he wasn’t going to turn his back on his son, even if that meant sharing Leo with Draco.

            “Four months. I wasn’t going to do it, but then after you almost killed me in that bathroom, I decided you owed me.”

            “So how long are you planning on staying here?”

            “Until the Ministry gives me back my house. One of those Auror wankers threatened me with seizing it for war crimes. You best go down and straighten that out or I’ll be forced to inform the papers that the Ministry is planning on seizing property from Potter Junior.”

            Harry’s breath hitched in his throat when he heard those last few words. “Did you give him my name, then?”

            “Yes, I told you, I named him _Leo_.”

            “Leo Potter?”

            “No, don’t be stupid, Potter. I named him Leo Draco Malfoy; I _told_ you that last time I saw you.” Draco had not in fact told Harry the middle name, but the last name had been given in the Unbreakable Vow.

            “Oh,” Harry said disappointed.

            “Now look here Potter, just because he doesn’t have your last name doesn’t mean he’s any less yours. He doesn’t look a stitch like me, so the least he could have is my last name. I even gave him a bloody Gryffindor name. With a name like that, he might just end up being one, Salazar forbid.” Draco said it as if Leo becoming a Gryffindor was the worst thing in the world.

            “So what if he is?” Harry asked defensively, but all Draco did was shrug, which let the fight out of Harry’s anger.

            They sat in silence for several minutes and were interrupted once again by the sound of an infant’s cries from the bedroom. Draco went to tend the baby and Harry followed, staying back.

            Harry watched attentively as Draco dug into the nappy bag with one hand, holding Leo against his shoulder with the other. “Do you have everything he needs? I could send Kreacher out,” he offered.

            “Yes, Potter. I’m not stupid enough to travel across continent without the essentials,” Draco replied, his voice biting. He pulled a u-shaped pillow out of a nappy bag that looked too small to hold it, tossing it next to him on the bed. Then he propped himself up on the bed, positioning the pillow on his lap and Leo sideways on top of it. He went to grab the hem of the vest he was wearing, but then stopped to look up at Harry. “Do you mind, Potter?” Trouser, shirts, and vests hadn’t always been part of his typical wardrobe, but he couldn’t exactly wear robes and be pulling them off every three hours.

            “No…” Harry replied, not getting Draco’s message.

            “Then get out. I’m going to feed him now and you’re not getting the peep show.”

            Harry’s ears and cheeks flamed up in a shade of purple worthy of Ron. He backed out of the room, hands up blocking the image of Draco and Leo from his eyes. He retreated to the drawing room sofa, where he waited for the better part of an hour, before Draco emerged again. This time he had the baby and the nappy bag with him.

            “Pull the swing out of there, will you,” Draco asked, throwing the bag into Harry’s lap.

            Being a standard sized nappy bag, it looked far too small to contain a swing and even if it did, Harry didn’t know how to set one up. “Can’t I take the baby instead?”

            “No, what if you drop him? The swing at least is charmed to withstand impacts.”

            Sighing in defeat, Harry admitted to himself that he did have almost zero experience with babies, since he’d seen Teddy all of twice. He reached into the bag, discovering that it was seemingly endless. It was similar to reaching into Hermione’s beaded handbag with the Undetectable Extension charm on it. Thus he pulled out his wand and summoned the swing, which popped out of the much too small hole and positioned itself squarely on the floor in front of him.

            “You are not entirely useless then,” Draco conceded, plowing Harry gently out of the way so that he could maneuver Leo into the contraption. Once the baby was locked in and the swing was spelled on, complete with lights and music, he retreated to the armchair, letting Harry reclaim the position in front of the swing.

            Draco watched Harry watching the baby for several minutes, Harry fascinated with his little doppelganger. Leo was awake, his eyes open, his little pink lips smiling, and his arms waving happily in front of him to the motion of the swing. Draco interrupted the moment by asking, “Is Weasley coming back soon?”

            “No, probably not…”

            “It’s getting late; I thought she lives here.”

            “That was an exaggeration. She’s gone home and since Ron and Hermione are off in Australia, her mum and dad wouldn’t let her stay over tonight anyway. I’ll try to talk to her tomorrow, but after what you said to her…” Harry said with a shrug.

            “Good, keep her away. I won’t have her touching Leo.”

            “Malfoy!” Harry replied angrily, trying and partially failing to keep his voice down. Leo noticed and his little face scrunched up, before he started fussing.

            “I don’t even trust _you_ , Potter, to touch him, so I certainly won’t be letting Weasley touch him, now will I? The both of you are far too temperamental,” Draco said pushing Harry out of the way, so that Leo would see him and not Harry. “There, there. That ugly wizard is gone and it’s just Father here now.” As he spoke soothingly, he stilled the swing, before reaching in and stroking the baby’s cheek with one hand and patting the little tummy with the other. Leo stopped fussing, so Draco started the swing going again, but didn’t give the position back to Harry.

            Raising his hands up in defeat, Harry retreated to the nearby sofa, where he still had a decent view of the baby. Draco always managed to rile him up and he knew he would have to work on his temper around the baby. It wasn’t Leo’s fault that his father was an arse. The baby was clearly already attached to Draco, so Harry would have to play by Draco’s rules. For now.

            Draco lowered himself to his knees in front of the swing and started talking to the baby in a soft, lilting voice; only it wasn’t English. “Dein PaPa ist ein Dummkopf, süßer Löwe,” he said in a language Harry didn’t know. Since he had claimed to have gone to Austria, Harry figured it must be Austrian. The word PaPa Harry recognized, thinking Draco had pronounced it the way the British upper class do, but he didn’t know which of Leo’s two dads Draco was referring to.

            Draco continued to speak to the baby in the other language and even more unbelievably, Harry soon realized that he was speaking in a nursery rhyme or limerick of some kind. Then he switched to English and sang in a pleasant and clear voice, “Hush Little Baby, don’t you cry. Father’s going to buy you a fiery phoenix. And if that phoenix doesn’t sing, Father’s going to buy you an emerald ring. And if that ring is blasted by an erumpent, Father’s going to buy you a great green serpent. And if that serpent doesn’t slighter, Father’s going to buy you a house elf all a dither. And if that elf doesn’t come hither, then Father’s going to buy you an owl all a twitter. Hush little baby, don’t you cry.” He sang it an octave lower than a woman would, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

            Transfixed by how sweet Draco seemed to be with the baby, Harry sat back and watched until Draco finished. If this was what Draco was like with Leo, then maybe this situation wouldn’t be so bad after all. _At least not for Leo. Malfoy will probably still be a pain in the arse with me_ , Harry thought.

            “Potter?” Draco asked, a few minutes after finishing his lullaby.

            “Yes?” Harry asked warily. It was quickly growing into a very long day.

            “I need to eat on a regular basis to provide milk for your son. Is that house elf of yours ever going to announce supper, or is he as useless as you?” Draco asked.

            Harry didn’t know whether to blush about the milk part, chastise himself for not offering Draco something to eat sooner, or rip Draco’s head off over the insult. He settled for gritting his teeth and saying, “If you’re hungry, all you have to do is ask and he’ll make you something.”

            “The elf doesn’t automatically make supper every night? What, do you not eat every day?”

            “No, but other people aren’t here every day. When Ginny, Ron, and Hermione are over, he knows to cook, but otherwise, if it’s just me, I like to fix myself a sandwich on my own.” Harry shrugged. Kreacher would’ve made something on his own, if Ginny had stayed, but he probably didn’t realize that Draco was staying.

            “Right. And what is your elf’s name, since I must put in a request for my food.”

            “Kreacher,” Harry answered.

            A moment later there was a loud pop and the elf in question appeared. Draco asked to be brought a snack immediately and ordered a large meal. Kreacher was only too happy to comply, dropping his nose to the floor in a sweeping bow; his only question whether or not Harry would be joining this impromptu meal, to which Harry agreed.

            Draco ate the biscuits and chugged down the pumpkin juice Kreacher brought him like he was starving. Then he said, “Well since your elf is just now barely starting on supper, I should probably give Leo his bath while we wait. Care to help?”

            That sounded like the nicest thing out of Draco’s mouth all day, so Harry approved the idea, thinking he might finally be allowed to hold his son. His hopes were temporally dashed though, when Draco instructed him to retrieve the infant tub and other bathing supplies from the nappy bag. He played the role of a servant, pouring water from his wand into the tub and warming it up to the perfect temperature. Then he kneeled at Draco’s side, handing over baby soap and ringing out baby washcloths when necessary.

            As they worked, Draco hummed a baby tune which Harry recognized as The False Night Upon the Road. He seemed to have an instinct for ducking out of the way at precisely the right moments, leaving Harry to be caught by Leo’s splashing.

            The bath finished, Draco took to drying the baby off, while instructing Harry to find a fresh set of clothes from the nappy bag. And Draco didn’t want just anything for Leo to wear, having a set of blue pajamas covered in baby dragons in mind, which forced Harry to sift through quite a bit of clothing to find the right ones. He finally found it just in the nick of time, Draco putting the final touches on Leo’s fresh nappy.

            Once Leo was properly dressed again, Draco retired with him to the armchair. “Clean all of this up, Potter,” he directed, before setting about to play with the baby.

            Harry glared murder at Draco, tired of being used for a servant. He was just about to put his foot down when Leo started laughing at the silly voice Draco was making at the baby. The baby’s laugh was intoxicating as it bounced off of the walls with a tinkling sound. Draco wasn’t just being a useless blob, but tending to their child. And if Draco was making Leo that happy, who was Harry to complain? Thus he grumbled to himself and did as told.

            Kreacher announced dinner a short while later. This time Draco ordered Harry to retrieve Leo’s chair from the nappy bag, proving that he had brought a ridiculous amount of baby stuff with him, which was now being strewn all over Grimmauld Place. It wasn’t a highchair that came, but a little infant seat that was placed on top of the table with the baby in it, while they ate. Both adults looked over at the baby frequently during the meal, but Leo was soon asleep again.

            This time when Leo cried, Draco had his hands full shoveling down his dessert rapidly. Harry wasn’t all that hungry and hadn’t bothered with dessert, instead waiting for Draco to finish to see what the next request was going to be. Thus he was quicker about standing up and peering down over the baby in response to the fussing noises. He reached out a shaky hand to pat the little tummy as he’d seen Draco do earlier and said, “There, there. What’s wrong little guy?”  
            Draco swallowed a bite of pie and answered, “He’s hungry. It’s his feeding time, which is why I normally eat earlier than this.”

            “Well tell your daddy to give his schedule to Kreacher and we won’t have this problem again,” Harry replied to the baby, still patting the little stomach, but aiming the words at Draco.

            “I’m his father,” Draco clarified, in between additional bites of food, which he swallowed fully before continuing. “I’ve been referring to you as PaPa or occasionally the Speccy Scar-Headed Git.” Again, PaPa was said in that annoyingly upper class lilt that only a snobbish git like Draco could pull off without sounding like an utter tosser. Strike that, even he sounded like a tosser saying it.

            Realizing that he wasn’t in the process of being fed, Leo picked up the screams, creating an ear-shattering sound that made both adults cringe.

            “Alright, I’m coming. Unstrap him, Potter,” Draco said, quickly cleaning his hands with a spell before getting up.

            Harry did as told and moved out of the way, so that Draco could take the baby. The two Malfoys moved up the stairs, hiding away in the bedroom for an hour. Harry moved to the drawing room to wait, thinking about what had transpired that day and all of the things he needed to discuss with Draco.

            When Draco finally returned, it was without the baby. Thus Harry’s first question was, “Where’s the baby?”

            “Asleep for the night,” Draco said, resuming his earlier position in the armchair.

            “Good.” There was a long pause and then Harry said, “I don’t like the way you’re treating me, Malfoy. This is my house and I won’t have you insulting me in front of my son.”

            “Fine Potter, we’ll be out of your hair and on the first portkey back to bloody Austria in the morning.”

            “That’s not what I mean, Malfoy. You can stay here, but can you stop being an arse for one minute?”

            “And here I was thinking I was being exceedingly kind to let you touch my son earlier. I even let you help with his bath.”

            “Ergh! Why do you have to be such an annoying git? You used me like a servant during his bath.”

            “Well how are you supposed to learn, if you don’t watch first? Babies are slippery when wet.”

            “What about when he was dry and you didn’t let me hold him?”

            “Do you have experience with babies I don’t know about?”

            “No…not much. But I did hold Teddy twice. He’s a lot littler than Leo and I didn’t drop him.”

            “Well invite this Teddy over and prove it. Excuse me for not immediately handing an infant over to someone who I thought had never seen one before.”

            “So does that mean you’ll let me hold Leo?”

            Draco looked up to the ceiling in exasperation, before answering, “Yes, but not until I trust you know what you’re doing.”

            “And what exactly do I have to do to prove myself to you?”  
            “I was just going to make you watch and take notes for a few weeks, but if there is someone out there actually willing to let you practice on their innocent child, then you can do that.”

            “So if I call Dromeda to come over with Teddy tomorrow, you’ll let me hold Leo?” Harry asked hopefully.

            “Sitting down, while properly supervised, yes, provided you can show proper holding technique with this Teddy. But don’t expect me to let you walk around with him or bathe him or anything.”

            Harry decided that was good enough for now. Then he set about writing a letter to Tonks’ mum and inviting her and Teddy over tomorrow. He’d also have to see about visiting Ginny tomorrow and explaining what was going on. Hopefully she would realize it was Draco and know that it wasn’t true. Come to think of it, he didn’t trust Draco not to pull something along the same lines with Dromeda; he figured that he should probably invite her over to the Burrow first to explain. Thus he wrote a letter addressed to the Weasleys with his request and letting Ginny know that he was coming over to explain. And since he didn’t have an owl, he sent Kreacher to deliver the letters.

            When Harry set down his quill, Draco interjected, “Potter,” and waited for Harry to look up at him.

            “Yes?”

            “You know I want you to be in Leo’s life, right? That was the whole point of our argument earlier; that I wasn’t going to let you abandon him, because that’s not fair to him. I was honestly going to let you hold him, as soon as I trust you to know what to do.” For once Draco spoke plainly and possibly honestly.

            “Yes, alright,” Harry conceded, starting to think he’d overreacted earlier. Draco’s heart seemed to be in the right place; it was just Draco’s tongue he wanted to sever.

            “And around him, I have tried to refrain from insulting you as much as possible. I want to keep his environment positive and pleasant. It was only seeing you again that made me fall back into insulting you; I will resume my previous attempts to refer to you only as PaPa.”

            “Thanks, but could you call me something less pretentious? Like papa, the way normal people say it, or even dad. What’s wrong with daddy?” Harry asked.

            “It’s plebian and I refuse. You can be PaPa or you can be the Speccy Scar-Headed Git. Your choice.”

            “Look, I don’t want to argue with you. If you’ve already gotten used to PaPa, I guess I could be PaPa. I want a healthy environment for him too,” Harry conceded. He figured he could work on his name later. If Leo started calling him dad one day, then the issue would settle itself.

            “That’s why I asked an attorney to draw up some papers for us.” As Draco spoke, he retrieved a thick stack of parchments from the nappy bag. “You don’t have to sign these, but if you don’t, I will take you to court and to the best of my ability, force you to be a proper parent to our son. This is a custody agreement. It just says that he’ll live with me, but that you will visit with him on weekends; every weekend. For now I will have to come with, but when he’s older, _if_ you have shown proper judgment with regards to him, then he could stay with you.”

            “Really? You’re willing to give me visitation?” Harry asked, pleasantly surprised.

            “Yes. How else are you to take responsibility for our son?”

            “Okay, I guess that makes sense. This stack is really thick. Is custody really all this says? It sure seems to take a lot of parchment to say I’ll have him on weekends.”

            “No, it’s not just custody. My lawyer seems to think that before you can have visitation, you must first acknowledge that he’s yours in the first place. The writ of paternity is that gibberish on top that I don’t really understand myself. From what I understood, if you acknowledge paternity, you are also giving Leo the right to inherit from you and me the right to collect child support on his behalf. That part doesn’t say how much child support or visitation; we have to file separate forms for that. This last page, here,” as Draco spoke, he pulled away the last piece of parchment and handed it over to Harry, “is so the courts can determine how much child support you should pay. I have to fill one out too.”

            “Alright, that seems fair. And the visitation?”

            “That’s the second half. There’s some liability stuff saying that if you prove yourself to be an unfit parent, by let’s say, chasing after Dark Lords with Leo in tow, this visitation agreement will become null and void. But other than that, it just says what I said about you visiting him on weekends. I figured weekends would be best for you, but if for some reason you want him on some other two days, I would agree to it.”

            “Seriously? You’re willing to be this nice about it?”

            “Yes, I am.”

            “Wow. I thought with the way you were acting like an arse earlier…” Harry waved his hands in the air.

            “Well I won’t be so lenient once he’s in school, but for now it’s not that big a deal. I want what is best for my son.”

            “Alright, talk me through this and I’ll sign,” Harry concluded and Draco did. There were parts of the legal jargon neither of them understood, but for the most part the documents seemed to be precisely what Draco said they were; a writ of paternity and a custody agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is not my intention to make either Draco or Ginny evil in this story, merely equally flawed. Harry too will have his flaws and be faced with the choice between the two. It will be a question of which set of flaws he can live with and which of the two he really wants. You can expect to see both Draco and Ginny behaving badly, but if either of them starts to become too unlikeable, please let me know. I want to straddle the line, not fall into character bashing.  
> Please Review!


	3. Chapter3

            Harry slept like shit that night, in part due to Leo’s midnight feedings. Both times he was awoken he cast a silencing charm and went back to bed. When he did sleep, he had a horrible dream about a horde of people mobbing him and stealing his hairs, so that they could all have his baby too, creating a sea of his clones. He woke sweating and sleepily promised himself that in the morning he’d find a way to make sure no one could ever do whatever Draco did again. Only he went back to sleep and completely forgot about it by morning.

            Harry felt like a zombie the next morning and had a whole new appreciation for Draco. Despite getting up with a crying baby twice in the night, Draco was seemingly functional the next morning, if somewhat cranky. Harry figured the bad mood was related to the sever lack of sleep and resolved to be more lenient about it; that lasted until Draco opened his mouth.

            “Do you have anything healthy in this house at all?” Draco asked, eyeing his plate of bacon and eggs like it was going to stop his heart dead with one bite.

            “This is healthy,” Harry muttered groggily in return, bacon in one hand, fork in the other.

            “I get that you’ve been basically living on your own with a group of teenagers for months now, but surely you must remember what a _healthy_ breakfast actually is. I haven’t seen a fruit or vegetable since I arrived here. Or did you just ignore those particular food groups on the house tables at school?”

            If Harry was honest with himself, he never did a lot of eating either food group. If Molly, Hermione, or Kreacher cooked them, he ate it, but after growing up with the Dursleys, he’d gotten used to eating a lot of heavy foods composed of mostly meats and grains. “What did you want for breakfast?” he asked petulantly, violently jabbing his slice of bacon into the runny yoke of his egg.

            “Some sort of cereal, porridge, or oatmeal with fruit; possibly some curds and whey on the side.”

            “Porridge, curds, and whey? Seriously Malfoy? You sound like a children’s fairy tale.”

            “Well maybe there is a reason why characters in fairy tales eat breakfast foods in the morning, Potter, you great tit.”

            Harry was about to retort that bacon and eggs were breakfast foods, before remembering his earlier resolve to cut Draco some slack today. “Fine, tell Kreacher to buy whatever you want. Send him out right this minute if you want,” he said, shoving another slice of bacon into his mouth and chewing.

            Draco took Harry up on the offer, dictating a list of things to Kreacher he claimed were much healthier for someone in his condition. It wasn’t until that statement that Harry realized that Draco had a legitimate reason for wanting to eat healthy: Draco was feeding the baby. Leo, for his part, was sitting happily in his little chair, batting away at a strand of toys Draco had charmed to float overhead.

            An apple appeared on Draco’s plate instantly, before Kreacher apparated away to the store.

            “Look, I’m going over to the Weasleys this morning. You’re welcome to do whatever, but I’ll be back this afternoon with Teddy,” Harry said, swallowing the last bite of eggs.

            Draco waved Harry off with a, “Whatever Potter,” and continued his own breakfast, which now consisted of two pieces of toast and the apple, the eggs and bacon having been pushed away. He considered telling Harry that he’d leave a note if he chose to leave, but then thought better of making himself accountable to Harry. As it was he could come and go with their son as he pleased without informing the git.

            Harry took one more look at Leo, before exiting through the floo to the Burrow. He emerged into the empty living room, half expecting it to be filled with Weasleys, as it had the last time he’d seen it Sunday evening.

            “Who’s there?” Molly’s voice called from the kitchen, the sound of dishes clanging.

            “Me, Harry,” Harry called as she bustled in.

            “Oh, Harry.” Molly’s face seemed glad to see him for a moment, before turning serious. “Good, Arthur and I need to have a word with you.”

            “Um, yeah. I need to talk to Ginny. Malfoy came over yesterday and made up a bunch of b-” Harry stopped himself from cussing in front of Molly. “Er, stuff that wasn’t true.”

            “Hmf,” Molly replied, wringing her hands on a dish rag tucked into her apron and heading towards the door. “Let me just fetch Arthur. He’s in the garage with Percy.” She threw open the front door. “Arthur! Harry’s here!”

            Harry figured Arthur would be here at this hour, but hadn’t expected Percy. Arthur was working nights and weekends, because the Ministry was busy all hours of the day tracking down the last of the Death Eaters. He had volunteered to take the undesirable shift, because he was such a nice man and because all of his children were grown. There had been so many years where he worked nine to five and let others take the unwanted shifts, so he figured it was his turn.

            Percy had come around and apologized to his family right before the final battle. He’d made several trips to the Burrow since and had attended Fred’s funeral, but things were still a tad strained with him. He’d lost his prestigious job in the shuffling of administrations and was down-graded to what basically amounted to an errand boy. That and having been made to eat crow—not by his family, but by many others—rankled his feathers and had the uppity git acting his usual pretentious self.  
            Harry and Molly waited in silence for a moment, listening to the sounds of Arthur and Percy chatting as they made their way back from the garage. When the two wizards finally gained the front door, Percy looked like he wanted to murder Harry, while Arthur just looked unusually serious.

            “Ah good, Harry, I’ve been meaning to have a little chat with you,” Arthur said, grabbing Harry around the shoulders and leading him over to the sofa, which Harry fell back on. “Percy, would you mind giving us a moment?”

            “Uh, I could just go into the kitchen with Mum,” Percy offered, looking like he wanted to do anything but.

            “No dear, I actually have a few things to say to Harry myself. Perhaps you could check on Ginny?” Molly asked, coming to stand behind her husband, who seated himself across from Harry.

            Percy grumbled to himself and stalked off, up the stairs.

            As soon as Harry heard the door close, he put up his hands and said, “Look, I know how awful it must sound, but Malfoy was making it all up.”

            “So Draco Malfoy doesn’t have your baby then?” Arthur asked pointedly, Molly’s face equally pointed, indicated her mutual desire to know.

            “No, that much seems to be true. I think Leo is mine, but I didn’t sleep with Malfoy and I didn’t cheat on Ginny.”

            The Weasleys wanted an explanation of that statement, of course, which Harry gave. He told them everything he knew about how Draco came to have Leo, including the involvement of dark magic and Lord Voldemort. Arthur was particularly interested in how exactly Draco had managed to conceive with only magic and a hair, because he didn’t think it possible. If it wasn’t possible, then Leo wasn’t Harry’s baby. Finally remembering his nightmare during the night, Harry promised to look into it, curious himself. He also made sure to mention what an arse Draco was on multiple occasions. It took a while, but the Weasley parents seemed to be accepting of Harry’s explanation.

            “So you did _not_ sleep with Draco Malfoy then,” Molly concluded, which Harry confirmed.

            “But you _did_ have sex with our daughter,” Arthur asked pointedly.

            “Ah.” Harry suddenly knew he was trapped. That was one of their rules for their relationship and the reason Ginny was only allowed to spend the night when someone else was there to supervise. But he’d already violated said rule before the Weasley parents had laid it down, during sixth year, before he and Ginny had left Hogwarts. “Yes?” he said it as if it were a question.

            A lecture on the dangers of underage sex followed. The Weasleys were disappointed in Harry. He tried to protest that he hadn’t violated the rule since it had been stated to him last summer, which for some reason only made them more upset. They sent him outside to watch the gnomes and called Ginny down, so that they could have a little chat with her about that. It was only after that, that he was allowed to see Ginny.

            Ginny’s lower lip was pouted out and fury burned in her brown eyes. “You _told_ them?” she accused Harry, to which he nodded. “How _could_ you?”

            “They already seemed to know?” Again, Harry’s voice came out like a question.

            “They didn’t know, you retard. That’s how they find out.”

            “I’m sorry?”

            “Ergh! You know what, Malfoy can have you,” Ginny said petulantly, turning her back on Harry.

            And so Harry pleaded his case to Ginny’s back, explaining that Draco was lying and that he’d never slept with Malfoy or cheated on her, but that he thought Draco was telling the truth about Leo being his.

            “Right, so you can just get a paternity test at St. Mungo’s and find out,” Ginny said, turning around to face Harry.

            “I don’t really see the point; he looks just like me. And I’ve seen Malfoy lie enough that I can recognize the rare occurrence when he’s being honest.”

            “Don’t you even want to try the test, in hopes of getting away from Malfoy?” Ginny asked.

            Harry shrugged.

            “Harry, if you are telling the truth that you didn’t have sex with this boy, then there is a very real chance that Leo is not yours. You need to have the test done,” Arthur argued.

            “I don’t mind, really. It’ll be nice having a family and the kid needs someone besides Malfoy. It’s not really fair to Leo that Voldemort forced Malfoy to create him,” Harry reasoned.

            “It doesn’t hurt to know for certain,” Molly retorted.

            “But I am certain. I’ve already signed the writ of paternity,” Harry said with another shrug.

            That caused Ginny to storm off abruptly up the stairs, leaving Harry bewildered, but determined to stick to his guns. The tables seemed to turn then, with Molly and Arthur going from scolding him, to reassuring him that Ginny just needed a bit of time. It was a lot to take in in one day. After all, Malfoy was an arse and Ginny hadn’t even known about Leo. Harry accepted their excuses for their daughter, optimistic that he’d have her back after a cooling off period.

            “You have already signed the writ of paternity?” Arthur asked, just to make certain.

            “Yeah, why?” Harry asked in reply.

            “Because there’s a movement to order the Malfoy family to pay war reparations; they might lose everything, including their house. But if the Ministry tries it when they have your baby, it will blow up in the papers. The public has already lost so much faith in the Ministry that a blow like this could turn into a big deal. I better warn them not to try anything with the Malfoys,” Arthur answered.

            “That’s why he came to me; he said the Ministry wouldn’t let them into the Manor.”

            “And that’s not likely to change for months. You Know Who was using their house as his base of operations. There are still a number of unaccounted for Death Eaters out there and we don’t even know who they all were. The Aurors will need to thoroughly search that house for evidence. They won’t turn it back over to the Malfoys until they’re done.”

            “Great, so I can expect Malfoy to stay for months,” Harry grumbled to himself.

            The conversation moved on then to the subject of Dromeda and Teddy. Harry explained that Malfoy had brought it on, by wanting proof Harry knew how to handle a baby before letting him hold Leo. But now that Teddy was on his mind, he really did want to see his godson again. Teddy was seven weeks old now and he’d seen the baby twice since the end of the war, but not in the last two weeks and babies change quickly at that age.

            The Weasleys agreed that it’d be a good idea to invite Dromeda there first, so that Harry could explain the situation. Then Harry fire-called her, letting her know it was a good time to come through. Thanks to his letter, she was already packed, although given that she had a newborn on her hands, she wasn’t ready. Thus it was half an hour before Tonks’ mother and son stepped out of the Weasley’s fireplace and the explanations began again.

            Harry was growing rather sick of explaining himself by the time Dromeda’s questions were over. His earlier agitation due to his disturbed sleep was back, making him just a bit short with the woman, even though he didn’t want to be. Thankfully, she knew purebloods and was quicker than the others to understand the bullshite her nephew had tried and would likely try to pull again.

            “Well I certainly don’t have a problem meeting my only nephew and great nephew, Harry. I think it’d be good for Teddy to have a second cousin,” Dromeda concluded.

            Teddy was asleep for the moment, so Harry took the opportunity to have a nice meal with people he loved and liked, as opposed to returning home and eating with Draco. Ginny and Percy came back down, although each only deemed a few terse words worthy of him. He couldn’t care less about Percy and was much more upset about Ginny. But after what Draco had said to her, he understood her need for time.

            After lunch, Harry and Dromeda flooed with Teddy back to Grimmauld Place, coming out in the kitchen. As they walked up the stairs, they heard happy children’s tunes playing quietly in the background, coming from the wizard wireless. Leo was in his swing in the drawing room, Draco sitting in front of him eating a large bowl of saucy vegetables. Draco set his bowl down as they entered the room, his eyes looking tired and droopy. Harry flinched back, thinking that Draco’s tongue would be even more biting than usual in this state.

            Dromeda introduced herself and Teddy, while Harry hung back. Draco returned the greetings in a tone that was on the nice side for him, but apologized for it anyway. “Sorry, I’m exhausted. Leo had me up all night.”

            “Never mind that dear. I’m sure it must be hard without your parents here to help you,” Dromeda waved Draco off.

            “They don’t really help much, but my elf does. I never realized how much easier she makes it.”

            “Perhaps you could bring your elf over. I’m sure Harry won’t mind an extra hanging about,” Dromeda suggested.

            Draco nodded, acknowledging the merit of the idea. “She was going to join me at the Manor, but I’ll have my parents send her here instead.”

            “Excellent. For now, how about I keep an eye on Leo while you take a nap?”

            At Dromeda’s suggestion, Draco eyed Harry skeptically, as if this might be a trap. “Just so you know, I don’t trust Harry to watch him. I’ve seen no proof that he’s decent with a baby,” he said.

            “For Merlin’s sake, Malfoy, I just held Teddy this morning,” Harry said, stepping forward and taking the newborn out of Dromeda’s arms. He did his best to support Teddy’s head and walked over to sit on the sofa with the baby.

            “Still, I don’t want you experimenting on Leo. I don’t doubt my aunt has the skill to care for a baby, but I haven’t seen you with one for more than five seconds now,” Draco retorted.

            “I will handle Leo and leave Teddy to Harry to practice with,” Dromeda reassured, having full faith in Harry.

            Draco looked like he wanted to protest, but he must really have been exhausted, because he soon gave up. He shrugged, before retreating to his room, closing the door behind him.

            “Wow, this is the first time I’ve been with Leo without Draco,” Harry said, leaning forward, towards Leo, with Teddy still cradled in his arms. Leo was more interesting, because he was awake and happy, making cooing sounds, while Teddy lay there with his eyes closed. Sure Teddy’s hair color changed when he was startled, but that was normally followed by crying.

            “Mind you don’t drop Teddy, dear. I trust you, but my nephew is correct that there are things you wouldn’t know. Why my Dora flipped herself right out of my hands when she was two weeks old. I was holding her, then she flung her little body backwards, right out of my grasp. Lucky my Ted was there to catch her with an Arresto Momentum,” Dromeda said good naturedly.

            Dromeda pulled a few baby items out of her own nappy bag for Teddy and proceeded to give Harry a crash tutorial in all things baby. Harry got to feed, burp, and change Teddy as well as put him into and take him out of several baby contraptions. It was a lot of work and she wasn’t always right there to help him, since she had promised to tend to Leo. Leo had been fine in the swing for some time, before needing a nappy change and going down for a nap. When Leo woke back up, he was inconsolable and only cried louder the more they tried to placate him.

            “He must be hungry. Help me make him a bottle,” Dromeda said.

            “Um, Draco’s not bottle feeding him,” Harry replied.

            “Right. You best fetch him then so that he can feed little Leo.”

            Harry did as instructed, risking his own neck by knocking on Draco’s door, worried that Draco would bite his head off for being woke up. But Draco didn’t, instead groggily asking that Dromeda bring Leo to him, as he sat up on the bed. She did and closed the door behind her, before rejoining Harry and Teddy in the drawing room.

            They talked about Tonks, Remus, and Ted, and the things that Dromeda still must do regarding the three recent deaths in her family. It was three quarters of an hour later when Teddy began to fuss for no apparent reason, having already been fed and burped, but not going down for a nap either. Dromeda suggested walking the floor with the baby on one’s shoulder as the only thing she’d found so far to calm Teddy in this state. Harry was feeling confident in his baby tending abilities and volunteered for the task.

            Harry was still pacing back and forth with Teddy, swaying gently with each step to gentle music, when Draco emerged from the room with Leo. The dark circles under Draco’s eyes were gone, but he still looked sleepy as his eyes drooped. He positioned Leo, tummy side down, on a blanket on the floor, spreading toys out in front for the baby to play with. Leo reached out with both hands in front of him, squirming on his belly, but didn’t really get anywhere.

            “Thank you for watching him,” Draco said politely, if a tad quietly, to his aunt. It was probably the first time Harry had ever heard Draco genuinely thank anyone.

            All Draco managed for Harry was a grunt at first, but a few minutes later he looked up and noticed that Harry was doing a decent job pacifying Teddy. “Don’t think that because you’re passible with a baby that you have free reign with Leo now,” he warned.

            Coming from Draco that was probably a compliment. “Can I hold him now, then?” Harry asked.

            “When he cries, you can,” Draco agreed.

            Draco seemed far less grumpy than before, so Harry decided it was safe to tell Draco about what was going on with Malfoy Manor, which was precisely what he did.

            “So I can’t go home for an undetermined period of time and have to wait for the Aurors to get off their lazy arses to do their job, but they probably won’t take my home from me?” Draco asked in conclusion.

            “Pretty much,” Harry agreed, noticing that Teddy had finally fallen asleep. He laid the baby down in the travel cot Dromeda had brought.

            Draco sighed and said, “I guess this is as good a time as any to tell my parents. Is that fireplace connected to the intercontinental floo?”

            “It’s not even connected to the regular floo,” Harry said with a shrug.

            “It used to be connected to both. I’m rather certain it was shut down when this place became a safe house, but it shouldn’t take me too long to connect it back up,” Dromeda said, pulling up her sleeves.

            Dromeda made it sound easier than it looked. It actually took several complex spells just to connect back up to the regular floo network. Then there was a quick fire-call over to the Ministry. From the harried looking Ministry official there was a vague promise that he’d put it on the list and that they could expect it running sometime in the next one to fourteen days. Draco stepped in and demanded they be moved to the front of the list, since this was Harry Potter’s house. Harry cringed at Draco’s harsh manner, but reluctantly admitted that Draco got the job done.

            The floo was connected mere minutes after that fire-call and Draco was then able to fire-call his parents. It wasn’t a full connection, because Austria was too far to floo, but it was fine for fire-calls. Draco informed his parents of where he was staying, what was going on with the Manor, and that he wanted them to send Dipsy to him here, at Grimmauld Place. They agreed and Draco past them a slip of parchment Harry had given him with the Secret of their location; they would need to know in order to fire-call Draco back and to send the house elf.

            Later, when Leo began to fuss, having rolled onto his back and flung his captured toy away, Harry finally picked his son up in his arms. He took Leo over to sit on the sofa, bouncing the baby gently and making shushing sounds.

            “Ooow,” Leo said, lips pursing in an adorable expression.

            “Did you hear that?” Harry asked excitedly.

            “Don’t get ahead of yourself PaPa; he tells me oo too,” Draco replied with a smirk.

            “Well he clearly likes me, don’t you my little Leo?” Harry’s voice went up higher in pitch when he spoke to the baby.

            “Taste isn’t always something a Malfoy is born with,” Draco said.

            Laughing, Dromeda said, “Ah Draco, you remind me so much of your father.”

            Draco smirked at that and Harry rolled his eyes.

            Dromeda stayed through dinner and her presence seemed to moderate both Draco and Harry’s interactions with each other. Neither insulted the other and no major fights ensued. After the evening meal though, Draco and Leo disappeared once more into their room and Dromeda took Teddy home.

            An hour later Draco emerged walking into the drawing room with Leo and the nappy bag, telling Harry he could help again with Leo’s bath if wanted. Harry did want, so he gathered the bathing supplies from the nappy bag and filled the tub with water, while Draco undressed the baby. This time Draco held Leo in place and let Harry wash Leo’s front. Draco still did the back and hair himself, but he made a real effort to include Harry and not just use Harry as a slave to pass him things.

            Afterwards, Draco sat on the floor in front of the sofa with his knees bent up in front of him. Leo, wrapped in a towel, was cradled on his legs, as he dried his son with one hand, keeping the other firmly gripped on the baby to prevent falls.

            Harry made short work of cleaning up the remains of the bath, storing everything back in the nappy bag once dry. Then he sat next to Draco on the floor and watched.

            “He’s so perfect,” Harry observed and Draco gave a murmur of agreement. “How did you make him?”

            “Black magic, I told you,” Draco answered, not looking up from the thick black hair he was toweling dry.

            “I know, but how? Where did you find the spell for something like that? How does it work?” Harry asked.

            “In a book full of fertility spells; they aren’t terribly dark, but anything that recreates human tissue is considered black. It copies your essence from your hair and recreates your seed.” Draco looked up then and smirked at Harry, before drawling, “I hope I don’t need to explain what I did with your seed.”

            Harry gasped, “You mean anyone can just steal another person’s seed and all they need to do it is one hair? What’s to stop everyone from doing it?”

            “It’s illegal, for one, to do it without your consent.” Draco shrugged and stopped drying Leo in order to think. The baby was mostly dry now and wriggled and squirmed on Draco’s lap, but besides Draco’s hand holding him in place, was temporally ignored. “At the time the law was the least of my concerns; the Dark Lord was the law. And now that he’s not, don’t you go thinking about using that against me. You _owe_ me after that Sectumsempra thing you nearly killed me with. And if you can get away with it because you were at school, well I can too, because my curse wasn’t nearly as dark and I was still at school too.”

            “No, look, that’s not what I’m concerned about. I’m worried someone else will find one of my hairs and do it too.”

            “Right, Weasley. You will just have to find a way to keep her away from your hair.”

            “No, not Ginny. All of those witches who follow me around and ask for my autograph wherever I go!”

            Leo let out a loud noise, trying to copy Harry’s exclamation, but thankfully wasn’t upset about it for once. Perhaps it was because it was said without anger being directed at anyone in the room.

            “Oh, them.” Draco sneered. “I wouldn’t worry about them. Snape told me after I had already done it that he didn’t think anyone other than me would have been able to pull off that spell with you. Apparently there is some requirement for a very strong link to be involved.”

            “Snape was involved? Did he help you?” This would make more sense to Harry, since he now equated the late professor with Merlin or Dumbledore like abilities and that Snape was capable of anything.

            “No. He kept trying to butt in, but I wanted to do it on my own. Afterwards he couldn’t believe I’d done it and insisted I tell him how. He wanted to see the book I’d used and everything.”

            “What did he say when he saw it?”

            “I already told you Potter. He just laughed, clapped me on the back, and said no one else could have managed it.”

            “Professor Snape _laughed_?” Harry asked incredulously.

            “I know, it’s scary when it happens, isn’t it? A disconcerting barking laugh, it was.”

            “I wouldn’t know; he never did it when I was present,” Harry replied.

            Draco looked down then at the baby in his lap and said, “Ah shite, Leo! Did you _have_ to piss on Father?”

            Harry laughed at that, triggering Leo’s high, tinkling laughter. The laughter was interrupted when Draco threw the piss soaked towel at Harry’s head. Leo was quickly covered in a nappy, dressed, and left in his swing for Harry to watch, while Draco went to clean himself up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank everyone who provided feedback on the last chapter! I appreciate it very much :)
> 
> Please Review!


	4. Chapter4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank vickythecharmedfan, for being the only person to leave a review on the last chapter. Your feedback is always so very much appreciated girl!

            Harry slept much better that night. First off, Draco’s house elf Dipsy had arrived to help with Leo. Second off, Harry had cast both permanent silencing and muffling charms on his floor and walls in the direction of the baby’s room, so that he wouldn’t be woken in the night. Breakfast was more pleasant too, since Draco now had exactly what he wanted to eat: a large bowl of fresh chilled raspberries, cream, and porridge. It wasn’t until after breakfast that his day was first disturbed.

            “What have you done with all of Ginny’s things?” Harry asked, standing in the hallway of the third floor, looking into the room across from Draco’s that had belonged to Ginny. Not that Ginny lived here, but there was plenty of room, so she had her own room when she stayed.

            The walls had been covered in decaying wallpaper and the carpet threadbare, giving the room a shabby appearance. The antique furniture with Ginny’s clothes strewn about had made the room look cluttered and dirty. But now all of that was gone. The room was completely gutted down to the wooden floors, which weren’t as bad as the carpet had been and appeared to be freshly sanded and refinished. The walls were freshly painted sunshine yellow, complete with an animated bunny jumping into a cackling stump. It looked like a whole new room with the doxy eaten curtains the only evidence remaining of its former state.

            “Oh, was that her rubbish then? She’s terribly filthy to leave so much garbage lying about,” Draco replied from inside the room, where he was pulling nursery furniture out of his nappy bag. He had both house elves, Kreacher and Dipsy, with him, moving each piece into place as he summoned it out.

            “It wasn’t rubbish; those were her things! Where are they?”

            “In the rubbish heap, I guess. Ask your elf,” Draco said with a shrug, not even bothering to look up at the fury on Harry’s face as he continued his task.

            “Kreacher! Where are Ginny’s things? Where’s the furniture that was in this room?” Harry asked the old stooped elf.

            “Kreacher did as Master Draco instructed. Kreacher took all of the rubbish down to the rubbish bin on the street.”

            Harry let out a feral growl-like sound, turned on his heel, and stalked off down the stairs and out the front door. It wasn’t trash day, so the rubbish bin was against the house, thank Merlin. In it he found all of Ginny’s things and the shrunken furniture that had occupied the room, covered in debris from the old carpet and wallpaper and their last few meals. He considered strangling Draco and Kreacher as he pulled the items out and cleaned them off. Nothing was ruined or irreparably dirty and Draco did have a baby, so he grudgingly decided he wouldn’t kill anyone.

            Harry shoved the contents of Ginny’s former room into a burlap sack, which he carried up to his room on the top floor. Then he returned to the third floor to question Draco. “And what is it that you’re doing with Ginny’s room?”

            “This isn’t Weasley’s room; this is the new nursery. You invited us to stay, so surely you realize that we must have a nursery. We can’t just keep flinging Leo’s things about from room to room,” Draco replied. He had the room furnished and was now pulling out linens, a sheet for the crib, towels, washrags, and nappies for the changing table. He left the linens on top of the various items of furniture and the two elves went behind him putting them into their proper positions.

            “I thought you claimed Hermione’s room across the hall?”

            “The room across the hall is my bedroom. I had no idea you’d let Granger stay in it. Now that I do, I’m glad I insisted on having your elf change the bedding.” Draco was pulling out Leo’s bathing supplies and a bin to contain them, tossing them one at a time in the direction of the changing table. Dipsy darted about catching them and put it all away.

            It hit Harry in a flash, the memory of when Draco first imposed his presence upon him. Draco had clearly said, “Rooms,” in the plural and this was what he meant by it.

            “Why can’t you turn the room at the end of the hall into the nursery?” That room was Ron’s, but it was better to take from his best friend, who was currently out of the country, than his girlfriend, who was already angry with the situation.  
            “Because it is too far from my room; it’s on the other side of the floor. Plus that room smells like spoiled pig’s feet and is too small. You do plan on having Teddy over, don’t you?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Well then that means you need room for two babies. Or did you want to give Teddy his own room? I suppose you will have to soon enough, but I didn’t see any sign that you had so much as a baby blanket for him yet. I errantly assumed you’d want to borrow Leo’s things for your godson, but obviously I am wrong. I’m sure Leo’s things with the taint of sanitation on them are not good enough for your precious Teddy. If it doesn’t smell like rotten pig’s feet, it’s clearly not good enough for the little war orphan my cousin left behind.”

            “What the fuck are you talking about, Malfoy?”

            “Watch your mouth; Leo’s right there.” Draco indicated a playpen full of toys with his elbow, since his hands were filled with stacks of baby clothes. He was now in the process of filling up the drawers, while Leo was happily twisting and turning on his side, reaching out to grab a new toy, after discarding the one already in his little hand.

            “Er, sorry. I’ll just go,” Harry said, turning away and heading to the drawing room.

            Draco was left alone to transform Ginny’s room into the nursery. Having a nursery was probably for the best and would mean they wouldn’t have to continue pulling things out of Draco’s magic nappy bag forever. Harry wished it didn’t have to be in Ginny’s room, although, he did agree that the foul smell in Ron’s room was probably not good for a baby. If it were up to him, he would’ve turned Hermione’s, now Draco’s, room into the nursery and left Draco to sleep in there too. Why did Draco even need his own room?

            Or Draco could’ve taken over the empty fourth floor. If Harry had known Draco was staying, that’s where he would’ve put Draco in the first place. There were only two bedrooms up there, one of which was the oversized master bedroom. But no one had wanted to stay in either of those rooms, because Sirius had kept Buckbeak in the master bedroom and the other room had belonged to Fred and George. The remains of an exploded caldron were all over the walls in Fred and George’s old room and it smelled even worse than Ron’s room. Thus the rooms would have to be cleaned before being used again, which was why Harry hadn’t offered it to Draco and Leo.

            Harry was still grumbling internality about the situation, looking out at the pretty light blue clouds on what had to be the clearest day all month, if all year, when a head appeared in his fireplace. It was a balding wizard he recognized from the war, his red Auror collar showing just above the point where his spinning head was severed. Harry jumped, not used to this fireplace being connected to the floo and suddenly recalling that Dromeda had set it up the night before.

            “Oi, Harry, good show. Robards and Stevenson would like a word with you, my good chap,” the head said jollily and Harry tried to place a name to that face. It was something with a D, like Davis or David or Davies.

            “Where are they?”

            “Auror headquarters. You know the way, I trust?”

            Harry confirmed that he did. He dismissed Donald or Derrick and informed Draco where he was going. Being the Savior of the Wizarding World, he was now allowed to floo directly into Auror headquarters and he did just that. He found Head Auror Robards and Lieutenant Stevenson in a conference room with a handful of lower level Aurors, including the formally disembodied head.

            “Harry! Good of you to join us!” Robards exclaimed, cutting off the speech of another Auror to do so.

            “Robards. Stevenson,” Harry nodded, holding out his hand and letting all of the wizards in the room shake it.

            Stevenson caught on to the fact that Harry didn’t recognize or remember everyone else in the room. He thus introduced Harry to Belchinstein, Dixon, Katz, and Martinez. Dixon being the name of the wizard who had summoned Harry.

            “Right, well let’s get down to business, Harry,” Robards said, taking command of the meeting again. “Katz here is head of the team combing through Malfoy Manor for clues. He’s working under Stevenson, who is in charge of rounding up all remaining Death Eaters. Marty and Belch are covering the Lestrange Mansion and the Crabbe Cottage, which are known Death Eater hangouts. Dick is coordinating information from a number of lesser locations. We need to know how many Death Eaters there were in order to know how many are left. We are flying blind without that knowledge. We can sweep the streets, but if we don’t know what we’re looking for, we’ll never find them all.”

            “So what did you want me for? This isn’t the best time for me to start training,” Harry replied. He’d been all gung ho about joining the Aurors when Robards offered straight after the war. They’d used him for a handful of major missions straight away when their numbers were low and the Death Eaters were fleeing into the woodwork faster than their side could track them down. But once things had calmed down a bit, the fact that he hadn’t even started Auror training was flung in his face and he’d been told to take some time off until the start of training. That was last Friday, four days before Draco had shown up on his doorstep. They had yet to get back to him, but an entire week had yet to pass.

            “Never mind the training. Lieutenant Grubbly-Plank is working on setting that up, but that shan’t be for another week at least,” Robards said to Harry, before turning to one of the other Aurors, handing the floor over. “Katz?”

            “Yes, well, I have reason to believe that the Malfoy family has valuable information. We’ve already obtained many names from evidence left inside their house, but we suspect they know even more. Given that they seem to have switched sides, we’d like to see if they are willing to talk to us and name names. Only problem is, we can’t get to them. We don’t even know where the elder Malfoys are,” Katz explained.

            “And you heard Draco Malfoy is staying with me?” Harry guessed.

            “Yes, well Arthur Weasley and I are on good terms. He happened to mention it,” Belch interjected.

            “So you want me to drag Draco Malfoy in for questioning?” Harry asked, not at all opposed to the idea.

            “No, not drag. He’s not a suspect, he’s a witness. Ask him to come in and volunteer information. At this point, it’s optional,” Katz clarified.

            Harry soon found himself back at Grimmauld Place, staring into the nursery, which Draco was again painting with his wand, adding details to the scene on the walls. It was only the fact that he was painting with magic that allowed him to do so without danger of splattering the furniture and other belongings already in place.

            “You want me to drop everything and drag my son into the Ministry of Magic, _voluntarily_?” Draco asked incredulously, in response to Harry’s request.

            “Yes. It’ll help make this country safer, for _our_ son,” Harry answered.

            “I’ll go on one condition.”

            “What, Malfoy?”

            “I don’t want Weasley around Leo.”

            “No, Ron’s my best mate.”

            “Not that Weasley, Jennifer Weasley.”

            “You mean Ginny, as in Ginevra?”

            “If that’s what her name is, then yes, Potter, Gineefra.”

            Harry rolled his eyes, sure Draco was being deliberately obtuse regarding Ginny’s name.

            “Well Potter?”

            “No. She’s my girlfriend and Leo is my son. I can’t keep them apart,” Harry replied.

            “Well then you have your answer. Your precious Aurors can just track down the likes of Rabastan and Renaldo Lestrange without my help.”

            Harry’s ears perked up at the name drop. Rodolphus and Bellatrix fought to the death in the final battle, but the younger brother and a cousin got away.

            “You know where the Lestranges are?”

            “Maybe,” Draco said with a shrug, but in a tone that clearly implied the true answer was in the affirmative.

            “The Lestranges are probably the worst Death Eaters left!” Harry’s voice was a plea, urging Draco to give them up.

            “And Rabastan is my only living uncle.” Again Draco shrugged.

            “Come on. Pack up Leo and let’s get to the Ministry. You need to tell this to the Aurors.”

            “No, Potter,” Draco said, wrenching his arm away from Harry’s grasping hand. “You already said you wouldn’t grant my request, so I won’t tell you or your little friends where my uncle is.”

            “But this is Rabastan Lestrange we’re talking about! He’s a Death Eater!” Harry said it as if this was supposed to somehow be news to Draco. Draco just shrugged and refused to budge. “Why are you so against Ginny anyway? You’re going to have to accept my friends in our son’s life, now that I’m in it.”

            “Your friends, maybe, but each and every one of your trollips, I think not. I want my son to have a sense of stability in his life and not to have to get attached to a dozen different witches you bring home on the spur of the moment.”

            “Does that mean you won’t be introducing him to any of your girlfriends either?”

            “What girlfriends? I’m gay.”

            That was news to Harry, but it wasn’t a big deal and he quickly recovered. He himself suspected that he was bi, but hadn’t had the chance to experiment with blokes, since he was busy with the war when the revelation came to him. “Boyfriends then.”

            “Of course not. Just because he doesn’t have the ideal family life doesn’t mean he needs to grow up like he was the child of a vagrant.”

            Harry had to admit that Draco had a point about not introducing their son to casual partners, but he was serious about Ginny. “But I want to marry her.”

            “Are you engaged?”

            “No…”

            “Well until there is a ring on her finger, she doesn’t need to meet our son. And don’t you even think about abusing that rule and handing out rings to every girl you sleep with, because if you do, I’ll up the rule to marriage.”

            “You’d make me marry a girl just to introduce her to my son?”  
            “Well if you say it like that, then you’re making me think you plan on throwing the title around. If you turn into one of those muggle playboys with an ex-wife, I won’t extend the privilege to the new one. You only get one.”

            “And you plan on sticking to these same rules yourself, do you?”

            “Absolutely. No Malfoy has ever been divorced.”

            It occurred to Harry then that Draco was just trying to protect their son. Draco wasn’t saying Ginny couldn’t ever see Leo, but that Harry should be serious and make a commitment to her before introducing the two. Given the stories the papers were printing about him sleeping with every witch he was seen touching and the owls from admirers, which Kreacher was in charge of intercepting and burning, it was reasonable for Draco to have concerns about the possibility that Harry was a playboy.

            “Alright, fine. I’ll keep Ginny away until we’re engaged,” Harry conceded. After all, it would only take four words and a ring to rectify the situation.

            “Good. Give me a minute; I have to pack Leo’s things,” Draco concluded happily, a smug smirk on his face.

            It was much more than a minute when Draco was finally ready. He took so long packing that when he finished, he decided it was too close to the time Leo would need to eat again. Harry was impatient to get going and found himself muttering angrily about the fact that his son ate every three hours. But there was nothing to do for it and Draco was eventually ready, Leo in his arms and the golden snitch nappy bag over his shoulder.

            When they got to the Auror department, the earlier meeting had broken up. Harry escorted Draco and Leo into the empty room anyway and left them to wait while he tracked down someone of authority. It was Dixon he found first and the Auror promised to track down the others for him. He went back to the room and waited with Draco. Leo was in his little chair normally kept in the kitchen, and Draco was showing him some loud singing toy. Leo seemed to like the thing, reaching out to grasp it in order to guide it to his mouth, before letting go, laughing, and starting the process anew.

            Dixon returned with Katz and Stevenson and two lower level Aurors there to take notes for them. Katz led the interview, asking Draco question after question, Leo’s toy singing in the background. Leo let out a few happy squeals interrupting them momentarily, but for the most part sat happily in his chair playing with his toy. It seemed that Auror Katz wanted to know about every detail Draco had witnessed. Knowing that Leo wouldn’t last that long, Harry decided to intervene.

            “We only have an hour or so, so let’s keep this to the most important facts,” Harry said.

            Katz nodded and began asking Draco for names of Death Eaters. While Draco talked, one of the lower level Aurors took notes and the other cross checked names, piping up whenever Draco said a name that was new to them. This time Katz didn’t ask for additional details, such as whether or not Draco knew where any of these people were. The second time Rabastan’s name was thrown out there and ignored, Harry decided it was time to interrupt again. “Draco knows where Rabastan might be.”

            If all eyes hadn’t already been on Draco, they were now, quills paused in mid-air and eyes looking up from parchments.

            “Is that true?” Katz asked.

            “Well I don’t know for certain where he is at this exact moment, but I know where the Lestrange’s secret underground bunker is, yes,” Draco answered.

            Draco ended up circling a point on a map for the Aurors to indicate where the bunker was. The rest of the interview time was spent with Draco naming Death Eaters and occasionally listing locations that they could be. They stopped when Leo began to fuss. Head Auror Robards popped his head in then and pressed for an additional meeting, but Draco said only, “We will see.”

            “Harry, see the Malfoys home, but do pop back over for another chat sometime this afternoon if you have time,” Robards said, ending the discussion for the moment.

            Harry did exactly that. He escorted Draco and Leo home. When it was clear that they were going to disappear for another hour for one of their feedings, he grew bored. Having nothing else to do, he flooed back over to the Ministry and found Robards at his desk for that private chat the Head Auror had requested.

            “Harry, good. I’m glad you came back. There are a number of things we still need to discuss.”

            “Er, yes sir,” Harry replied. “Look, Draco can’t be coming back all the time, but I see no reason why he can’t send you guys owls with what you want to know.” As long as the Ministry provided the owls, that was, since neither he nor Draco had one at the moment.

            “That shouldn’t be a problem. There is something else I wanted to talk to you about.” There was a pause in which Harry looked at Robards expectantly, waiting for him to get to the point. “The baby, Leo, is it?”

            “Yes sir.”

            “Right. He is your son then?”

            “Yes,” Harry answered honestly, wondering what the Auror was getting at.

            “Your son with Draco Malfoy?” Harry nodded and Robards continued, “Is there any truth to the rumor that Malfoy conceived the baby without your knowledge? You didn’t have sex with him?”

            “Yeah, I wasn’t there. We never had sex.”

            “You see Harry, I’m concerned because I know of no spell that would allow Malfoy to have your child, without your consent. Every spell I know of requires an established relationship. If you weren’t in a relationship, I don’t know how he could’ve done it.”

            “There was a hair involved, I know that.”

            “Do you know that what Malfoy did is illegal?”

            “I know it’s black magic, but he told me it’s only because these spells involve regenerating body parts, which automatically falls under black magic. It doesn’t seem that dark to me,” Harry answered.

            “It’s not. Normally these spells are only used in cases of impotency and are perfectly legal. If they are used without consent, then they become illegal. But because the relationship is required, we don’t get many cases of misuse. Since you did not consent, do you wish to press charges?”

            Harry knew the answer to that question immediately. “No,” he said, shaking his head. He knew what it’d been like for Draco, forced to obey Voldemort’s orders. Voldemort had ordered it and Draco had unwillingly complied, just like Draco hadn’t really wanted to kill Dumbledore. And once Draco had the baby, he’d done his best to protect Leo, keep the baby safe, and take proper care of the child, going so far as to let Harry free and switch sides in the war. Draco had given Harry critical information and let him and his friends go.

            Robards raised an eyebrow quizzically.

            “I hit him with a dark curse first; we’re even,” Harry explained, repeating the excuse Draco had given him. If he compared the two dark curses, Sectumsempra on Harry’s part and Leo on Draco’s, there was no question that Harry got the better deal. He’d much rather have a baby than have his chest sliced open and almost bleed to death.

            “It is your decision son. I will leave this matter up to you, but I do think you should look into how exactly it was accomplished. If the Death Eaters invented a new spell that can create a biological child with nothing more than a hair, then we need to know about it. I hope for all our sakes something like that never gets out,” Robards concluded.

            Harry concurred, but he also knew what according to Draco, Snape had said about it. He relayed the information to Robards, but the Auror still wanted to know the exact spell that had been used. Robards also wanted the Unspeakables to examine the case and determine if Snape was correct.

            Later that evening, Harry questioned Draco about the book the spell had come from and exactly how the spell had been performed. Draco had found the book in the Malfoy family library. He’d brewed the potion in the dungeons of Hogwarts and performed the dark spell in his dormitory. It required a preexisting relationship, but Draco hadn’t been aware of that requirement when he did it; he just did it and if Harry wanted to see exactly what he did, the book was in his room at Malfoy Manor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draco’s behaving badly again; this is the first of his many attempts to cut Ginny out of Harry’s life. He’ll meter out the information slowly, to keep pressure on Harry to keep Ginny away. Up next Ginny will find out about what Draco did to her room…  
> Please Review!


	5. Chapter5

            Mid Friday morning Ginny came stumbling out of the drawing room floo. Harry was surprised by her presence for only a second, before his lips split into a wide smile and he stepped forward to hug her. She returned the hug with the briefest of gestures, before pulling away.

            “I’ve not completely forgiven you,” Ginny said, walking past Harry towards the stairs, “but I need that blouse I left here. Mum’s going to clean it for me so that I can wear it to that dinner tonight…” As she talked, she made the short trip up to the third floor to the doorway to her old room and Harry followed. She stopped and stared into the new nursery. “What did you do to my room!?!” The last was an angry shriek and she was suddenly livid, turning bright red, from her ears to her neck.

            And then Leo was screaming at the top of his lungs.

            “Um,” Harry said from behind Ginny.

            Draco abandoned the clothing he was organizing on the top of the chest of drawers and rushed to pick Leo up. He bounced and made shushing noises, but Leo was clearly not going to be appeased so easily. “Can’t you keep that banshee of yours quiet?” he asked.

            “Banshee!?!” Ginny asked indignantly.

            “Come on, you’re not helping and your blouse is upstairs,” Harry said, tugging on Ginny’s arm and hoping she’d come away with him.

            Ginny looked like she was going to argue the point, but then glanced back at Leo, who was still screaming in Draco’s arms. Obviously the baby was going to win any fight, so she huffed and stormed past Harry towards the landing. When she got there, she turned and asked, “What’s going on?”

            “At least come into the drawing room,” Harry pleaded, since Leo and Draco would still be able to hear them from there.

            Ginny acquiesced and then the two of them were sitting across from each other, Ginny in the armchair and Harry on the sofa, the swing having already been moved into the nursery.

            “Well?” Ginny demanded.

            “Errrr…”

            “Why has Malfoy taken over _my_ room? Why did you _let_ Malfoy take over my room?”

            “He started it while I was out Wednesday. He was halfway done before I realized yesterday morning what he was doing.”  
            “And when you found out?” Ginny asked pointedly.

            “Um, well I tried to get him to switch rooms and take Ron’s for the nursery,” Harry said defensively.

            “And?”

            “And it smells. He doesn’t want the baby in a smelly room. And he said it wasn’t big enough for Leo and Teddy. I reckon he’s right that Teddy needs a space here too.”  
            “And what about me?”

            “I’d rather have you closer to me. I know your parents won’t let you share a room with me, but you could take Regulus’ old room or the master bedroom.” He didn’t bother offering Fred and George’s old room, since it was an even more offensive choice.

            “Does the master bedroom still smell like Buckbeak and dead ferrets?”

            “Um, yeah, but I’ll fix that.”

            “You’d better,” Ginny said standing up. “Now where are my things?”

            Harry led Ginny up to his room on the top floor—Sirius’ old room—and helped her find what she wanted from the burlap sack. She wasn’t pleased that her things had been shoved into a sack so haphazardly and was even less pleased by the rotting apple core she discovered bundled up with her good blouse, like the cloth was a used tissue.

            “I want him out, Harry,” Ginny said when she looked at Harry, after unfurling the now very winkled blouse.

            “I can’t. I already told him he could stay and he has nowhere to go. He won’t be allowed back to his house until the investigation clears out of there.”

            “Urgh. Just throw him out on his arse! I don’t care where he goes!”

            “And the baby?” Harry asked, not believing that she was considering the baby too. Leo hadn’t done anything and he was Harry’s child.

            “Take the baby from him and raise him yourself if you’re so concerned. I’m sick of this. I’m going home,” Ginny said, before storming off back down the stairs, blouse in hand. At the second floor landing, she turned and called back up the stairs. “And don’t forget you’re taking me to that dinner tonight.” Then she was gone through the floo in the drawing room.

            Harry stood in front of the drawing room fireplace staring at the embers as they died away in Ginny’s wake. He heard the sound of Leo’s cries growing louder and when he looked up, Draco with Leo in arm, was walking through the doorway, having come from the direction of the stairs.

            “Here, you take him. You did this,” Draco said, pressing Leo into Harry’s arms.

            That was the first time Draco had offered Leo to Harry and despite the situation, it brought a smile to Harry’s lips. Harry took his son and looked down at the red little face that so resembled his own. Leo’s mouth was open and turned down like a fish, but his cry paused momentarily as he decided whether or not to continue crying in his new position or if this might be alright. There was a drizzle of snot dripping out of Leo’s nose and a pair of tear streaks running down his cheeks. Leo looked up at Harry through his wet eyelashes as Harry began walking and swaying with the baby. The crying picked back up, but softer this time as the pair of wet green eyes blinked with sleepiness. There was something Harry found endearing about the baby, despite the racket, although he couldn’t quite place it.

            “Did not,” Harry protested, because he couldn’t let Draco have the last word.

            “You did so!” Draco’s voice was a whispered shout, clearly trying not to upset the baby further. “You promised me yesterday that you wouldn’t let Weasley around Leo and then what do you do? You let the banshee screaming into the nursery! Leo was asleep, thank you very much.”

            “I didn’t get a chance to talk to her. She flooed in and was off screaming at you before I could stop her. I’ll talk to her tonight,” Harry said over the sound of Leo’s cries.

            “If you do not keep your word, I won’t give your friends any more information. I won’t write a reply to that owl they sent this morning. Those names and locations they want will stay in my head, I swear it to Salazar himself.”

            Leo was quieting down now, nodding back off to sleep, but his displeasure with being woken up was still evident on his face. “I agreed to go to some dinner tonight. It’s for war heroes and I said I’d take Ginny. I’ll talk to her then,” Harry whispered.

            Draco didn’t seem pleased with the idea of Harry seeing Ginny, but he didn’t say anything about that. Instead he said, “Leo’s asleep. Put him back in his crib, will you?”

            Draco followed behind Harry to the nursery, where he laid Leo down. Now that he was reminded of tonight’s dinner, he decided he’d better figure out his own robes for the event. Thus he went upstairs and called Kreacher to help him find something clean to wear.

            Harry had been made to go to a number of these events and dinners since the war; one a week during the first month, but this was the first one since the one month anniversary a week and a half ago. All of these dinners were why he and Ron had been dragged out to buy new clothes shortly after the war. He’d gotten three sets of dress robes, under the hypothesis that if he had three, he wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning them. Only he’d been to so many of these things he’d worn all three multiple times. Kreacher wasn’t that great at cleaning and Harry began to wish he’d sent his robes with Ginny for Molly to clean. He eventually chose the least dirty.

            The least dirty choice was heavily wrinkled, with a small pudding stain on the front. Harry asked Kreacher to clean it, which took over an hour and made it worse; now it was stained, wrinkled, and had a stripy appearance. He then attempted to wash the pudding stain out in the sink himself, to little success, because the only thing he managed to get out were the stripes Kreacher had added. Eventually he just dried it, put it on, and went downstairs to tell Draco he was leaving.

            “That is what you were working on all afternoon that made you miss lunch? You should have eaten lunch and not have bothered with it; you might look a right spot better if you did,” Draco said eying Harry, baby Leo on his shoulder.

            “I suppose you could do better then?” Harry asked, ears tinged red at the ridicule.

            “I could…” Draco looked for a second like he was about to say he wouldn’t help, but then he pulled out his wand and shot a pair of spells at Harry. The wrinkles were instantly released and the pudding stain vanished. “But now your hair doesn’t match. Would you like me to do something about that too?” Draco smirked.

            “No, no, this is great. Thanks Malfoy.”

            “If you want to thank me, Potter, don’t bring Weasley back here.”

            “Yeah, fine. I have to go,” Harry replied and flooed to the Burrow to pick Ginny up.

            “But Mummm, what do you mean you can’t get it out? You can get _any_ stain out,” Ginny was saying from the doorway to the kitchen. She was dressed in the blouse from earlier with a plain skirt and flats.

            “I don’t know what you did to it Ginny, but it really was in quite a state. You’re lucky I got it looking that decent,” Molly replied, standing by the kitchen sink.

            Harry approached Ginny from behind and said, “I’m here.”

            “Oh Harry, why don’t you look nice tonight,” Molly complimented.

            Ginny took in Harry’s appearance and said, “You _do_ look nice. Did Kreacher fix your robes? Could he fix my blouse too?”

            “No, Malfoy did it.”

            “Malfoy!?!”

            “Yeah, Kreacher made them worse, actually. What’s wrong with your blouse?”

            “Well it’s all your fault. Mum says it looked like my blouse was used as a dish rag it was so nasty. She got the mold from your apple, which was disgusting by the way, but she couldn’t do a thing about this white stain.” Ginny pointed to the medium sized stain on her chest.

            “It doesn’t look so bad; I couldn’t even spot it until you pointed it out,” Harry appeased.

            “Really?” Ginny asked hopefully.

            “I wouldn’t trust Harry’s judgment on that. Best go fetch another blouse, Ginny,” Molly interjected.

            “But I’ve already worn all the others to Ministry dinners. Couldn’t Malfoy do mine like he did yours?” Ginny asked again.

            “There’s absolutely no way he’d agree to that after you screamed and woke Leo up this morning. He’d probably do something worse to it,” Harry said.

            “Ginny, you didn’t? In front of the baby?” Molly asked incredulously. “I know I taught you better.”

            “Mum, I told you about this: he turned my room into a nursery!” Ginny retorted.

            Molly looked like she was about to go into a lecture, if the stern displeasure on her face was anything to go by. Harry glanced at his wristwatch and said, “Oh look at the time! We’re running late; we should go.” Then he took Ginny by the arm and pulled her out into the living room. “I really do think you look lovely tonight.”

            This time it was Ginny’s turn to blush, the tips of her ears and her cheeks turning red. She ducked her head and said, “Thanks.”

            They flooed to the wizarding restaurant where this dinner was being held. Everyone was already there and turned to stare at their hero when they arrived. The press insisted on a few photos, both of the two of them alone and with a number of other guests of importance.

            “Harry, what have you been up to since the war?” a male reporter asked.

            “You mean since last week when you asked that?” Harry asked and the reporter nodded. In truth it had been a bit more than a week this time, since the last dinner was held exactly on the one month anniversary of the war, when they were usually held on Friday nights, like this one. “Well I’ve been spending time with my son, Leo Malfoy.”

            “You have a son?” the reporter asked.

            “We speculated on that during the war; Draco Malfoy filed the paperwork reporting the child, but never permitted an interview. Is it really true then?” Another reporter, this one a female, stepped forward to ask, butting the first reporter out of the way.

            “It is, but I’m not going to talk about that tonight,” Harry answered.

            There were more questions as the reporters tried to wheedle information out of Harry anyway. By the time they finished, the food was being served. They sat down to eat surrounded by people who all wanted a word with Harry, but they’d gone to enough of these before to be used to it. At least he thought so, but when dessert was being served, he noticed Ginny pouting.

            “Care to go for a walk in the garden?” Harry asked, hoping to get away from the crowd.

            Ginny agreed and the two of them walked outside. Harry cast a muffliato charm just in case they were followed and asked, “What’s wrong?”  
            “That Eloise noticed the stain on my blouse. She had the nerve to ask if the two of us had done something right before this to cause it,” Ginny said angrily.

            “Oh. Sorry,” Harry said.

            “Sorry? What did you do to my blouse, Harry?”

            “Um, nothing! I swear.”

            “You better not ‘ve. We should’ve just stopped by your place and gotten Malfoy to clean it. Now you look all put together and I look a mess.”

            “He’s not really the cleaning type. I sort of don’t think that’s a good idea…”

            “Because he’s upset I made his baby cry. Yeah, okay, I’ll try to watch where the little brat is when I yell at you next time. I swear though, he’s using that baby as a shield. Every time he acts like an arse now, the baby is right there.”

            “The baby is always right there.”

            “And he’s always an arse.”

            “Point taken.”

            “If you’re going to insist on keeping him around, then I want you to at least get that baby paternity tested, Harry. It’s the least you can do.”

            “I already told you that it doesn’t matter; I’m going to take care of Leo either way.”

            “You’re unbelievable, you know that? I can’t believe you’re willing to just accept having Malfoy around all of the time like that,” Ginny said and Harry just shrugged. “Fine, but don’t come crying to me when he pulls something _and_ that baby turns out to not be yours.

            “Alright. But, um, Ginny, there’s sort of something I need to talk to you about,” Harry said nervously, trying to approach this subject gently.

            “Yes?”

            “Well, it’s just that Malfoy and I talked. He apparently believed all those stories about me, you know… And he, er, thought I was some sort of playboy that was going to have a different witch over to the house every night. He doesn’t want that going on in front of Leo and I agreed, but he didn’t take my word for it. He made me promise that I wouldn’t have anyone over until I’d made a commitment to her. He said he’d do the same, so I won’t have to worry about him bringing strange people around Leo either.”

            “So you just agreed to keep me away?” Ginny asked angrily.

            “No! Well yes, but no, it won’t be like that. I just need a little bit of time to arrange something special, to you know…and then it’ll be official and you can come over as much as you’d like.”

            “Oh Harry!” Ginny squealed and jumped on Harry.

            Harry caught Ginny in his arms with an, “Omphf!” He took advantage of the moment and held her body close to his. “Just until then, could you owl or fire-call me to come over to your place?”

            “Alright, but you better hurry up.”

            “And next time you do come over, try to keep it down around Leo.”

            “I didn’t even know he was there.” Ginny sounded petulant again, as if it was all Draco’s fault.

            “Well if Draco’s there, it’s a good bet Leo is,” Harry pointed out and Ginny nodded. “We’ve been out here a while; we better get back inside.”

            Ginny agreed. Dessert was over, so they picked up bottles of butterbeer and mingled with the other guests. Neville was there with his girlfriend Hannah, so they weren’t totally out of place among the political figures. Thus Harry steered them towards Neville and Hannah.

            The two couples exchanged greetings and then Hannah said, “Ginny, could I drag you into the loo for a minute?”

            Ginny complied and the two witches were off.

            “What was that about?” Neville asked.

            “Women. They like to pee in packs,” Harry dismissed. “How have you been, Neville?”

            “Gosh, Harry, we only saw each other on Sunday for Ron and Hermione’s going away dinner. I’ve just been helping Madam Sprout get the greenhouses back together, same as before. Have you heard from Ron and Hermione?”

            They made small talk for a few minutes. Harry had indeed heard from his friends, who had written every other day with news. Ron and Hermione’s mission to restore her parents’ memories wasn’t going well, but it was early yet.

            When the girls returned, Ginny’s face was a flaming shade of magenta that clashed with her hair. She was looking down at the ground, not making eye contact. “Harry, we are going home,” she said tersely.

            “Now?” Harry asked surprised.

            “Yes, right now,” Ginny confirmed, pulling him in the direction of the fireplace.

            Harry followed Ginny back to the Burrow, where he found her in the living room, tapping her shoe on the floor with her hands on her hips. He knew instantly that he was in trouble. “What’s wrong?”  
            “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” Ginny asked, her hands rising in the air for emphasis. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. Hannah Abbott fixed my blouse. She recognized the stain and knew the spell to get it out. It only took her a second.”

            “That’s great!”

            “Is it? If she recognized it, then everyone else there probably did too. I had my _picture_ taken in this blouse after what _you_ did to it. It’s going to be in all the papers. Mum and Dad are already mad about the sex; now they are going to think we were fooling around! Argh! I’m _sooo_ mad at you right now.”

            “Er…what kind of stain was it?” Harry asked, scared to find out.

            “It was a bodily fluid removal charm Hannah used. Care to explain?”

            If Ginny was mad now, Harry could only imagine how mad she’d be when she learned that Draco had thrown her shirt in the rubbish bin. “Um, no?” he asked.

            “You stupid pig! You used my blouse to jerk off and then you _let_ me wear it out tonight and didn’t say anything!”

            “No. I didn’t,” Harry denied meekly, beginning to wonder whether or not Draco had.

            “Then what _did_ you do with it!?!”

            “I didn’t do anything. I put it in that sack and that was all.”

            “Ginny! Harry! What on Earth is going on?” Molly asked, coming down the stairs. She looked like she’d been getting ready for bed and was clearly tired.

            “Mum, Harry ruined my blouse! It was obvious to everyone at the dinner,” Ginny explained.

            “No, I didn’t,” Harry insisted.

            “Well you got it out now,” Molly placated.

            “Only just,” Ginny said, her eyes dashing quickly to Harry and then back to Molly. He had the distinct impression that she wanted to tell on him, but didn’t want her mother to know.

            “It’s late. You should go, Harry,” Molly replied pointedly.

            Wanting to get out of the situation, Harry was quick to agree. “Later Ginny,” he said, giving her a quick kiss to her hair. Then he darted off through the floo.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses what Draco put on Ginny’s blouse? I’m pretty sure he did it on purpose too… Which of the two of them seems worse so far? 
> 
> Please do take the time to review. Your feedback is very important to the writing process and I would love to hear from all of you :D


	6. Chapter6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter! Your feedback is very much appreciated :)

            Harry was in the Auror department discussing a new lead with Auror Belchinstein, who was better known as Belch or Belchy. This was his second morning this week spent at Auror Headquarters, and it was only Wednesday. Monday he’d come to talk to Katz about Draco’s book of fertility spells; Katz being the Auror in charge of Malfoy Manor.

            Katz produced Draco’s book upon Harry’s request, after clearing it for pertinent evidence to the whereabouts of Death Eaters. The book contained Draco’s notes and everything looked to be exactly as Draco said: the spell requiring a preexisting relationship was used. There were notes on brewing the potion and on when Draco had performed the spell, but there were no notes or other indication that he’d ever bothered to read the introduction, where it mentioned the necessity of a relationship. And not just any relationship would work, it had to be a long lasting one filled with strong positive emotions; a relationship based on hate wasn’t supposed to cut it.

            Harry took his findings back to Robards, who sent the problem along to the Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries to study. Maybe there was some loophole that they didn’t know about that allowed Draco to conceive Harry’s baby. Or maybe it was a one off; an abnormality that would never happen again, but just happened to work because it was Harry or Draco or the both of them. Whatever the case, it now lay in the Department of Mysteries for the Unspeakables to solve.

            That left Harry free to focus on other matters, such as this thing he was working on with Belch. Belch had been the lead investigator on the Crabbe Cottage, looking for evidence of crimes and clues to where the remaining Death Eaters might hide. Only the cottage was small with few leads, so he’d already wrapped the investigation up. He was therefore available when Harry came in that morning with a new location Draco had just revealed.

            True to his word, Harry hadn’t invited Ginny over to Grimmauld Place, making for five days without the witch, so Draco was happy with him. Draco also really hated Fenrir Greyback and had spent an hour that morning listing out every werewolf he’d ever met or heard of, and their relation to Greyback. Greyback himself was dead, but he had a son named Deimos Greyback who he’d turned quite young after killing the mother. Deimos was trained to follow his father’s footsteps. The son was still out there and was who the Aurors were planning on going after. Thanks to a detailed map Draco had just given them with known locations of Greyback’s pack and Deimos, they finally had the leads to do so.

            With the ties to Greyback, Harry was especially interested in this case. That was why he delivered the information in person and was currently trying to worm his way into the investigation. That and he was tired of being on vacation; he wasn’t used to it.

            Harry and Belch were deep in conversation discussing the merits of each location as a hideout, when they were interrupted by a young office assistant.

            “Excuse me sirs, I’m so sorry to interrupt. But there’s just been a fire-call for Savior Potter from St. Mungo’s,” the young secretary said.

            “And? What’d they say?” Harry asked, hoping that one of his friends hadn’t come across a runaway Death Eater. The war may be officially over, but there were still casualties happening all of the time.

            “Draco and Leo Malfoy have been admitted for treatment. They were attacked in Diagon Alley.”

            Harry thanked the kid for telling him, quickly threw a few words at Belch to the affect that they’d continue the discussion later, and took off towards the floo. He rushed to Draco and Leo’s side as quickly as he possibly could, but was waylaid by a nurse, who wanted to give him the status of their conditions.

            “Draco came in with a sprained ankle and a scraped up arm. He took the brunt of the attack, but we were able to patch him up, good as new. Leo came in with several bruises and small scrapes. We healed him up too, but given his age we are watching him for signs of more serious injury,” the nurse explained. “I do apologize, on the part of St. Mungo’s hospital, for the confusion that happened when they were first brought in. I regret to say that Draco was initially mistaken for a Death Eater and was almost turned away. Luckily a supervisor was called and rectified the mistake.”

            “What happened to them in the first place? Why were they attacked?” Harry asked.

            “They were attacked in Diagon Alley, that’s all I know,” the nurse replied.

            Harry thanked the witch and then continued on his way to Leo and Draco’s hospital room.

            They had a room of their own, which was rather unusual this soon after the war, when all beds at all the wizarding hospitals in the country tended to be full. Leo was asleep in a crib by Draco’s bed, while Draco was sitting up in bed and glaring at the door when it opened.

            “Oh, it’s you. Took you long enough. I thought for a moment it was going to be one of those bloody nurses back to bother me again,” Draco said.

            “And what have they been bothering you about?” Harry asked, taking the seat on the side of Draco’s bed.

            “They actually tried to turn us away! They don’t have enough beds for Death Eaters, they said. Leo and I weren’t injured enough to merit their time and precious resources. If it weren’t for the fact that he looks just like you, that bitch wouldn’t have even bothered calling her supervisor before throwing us out.”

            “Well you weren’t badly injured, right? And they have been very busy since the war,” Harry reasoned.

            “I’m alright, but Leo was jostled pretty hard when I fell and hit his head. They are keeping him here for observations.”

            “Well I’m glad you were able to convince them to treat the two of you.”

            “I had to threaten to take their mistreatment of Harry Potter’s son to the press. I said I was taking Leo to the Daily Prophet and let them photograph the little Potter baby covered in bruises and rejected from the only wizarding hospital in this part of the country,” Draco revealed. For once Harry was happy the wizard was such a pain.

            “Good. Now what happened in Diagon Alley? Who attacked you?”

            “A couple of middle aged widows. I was just going to buy a few things for your house, now that Leo and I are living there. There’s a linen store I like on the corner of Knockturn and Diagon that I went into with Leo. When we came out this lady I know came running at us. It was Twyla Avery, wife of the late Glaedwine Avery. He was a Death Eater who died in the final battle and she was mad at me, because my family betrayed them and changed sides. She came at me with a tripping hex and then yelled at me over Leo’s cries in the middle of the square.

            “Then some other widow I didn’t know came running out of one of the other shops and starts yelling at me too and tossing rotten fruit at us,” Draco continued. “Her husband was apparently in with your lot and died in the war, which was also my fault and it didn’t matter that Leo was getting hit too. It was a group of Hogwarts age kids that broke it up, screaming at the old witches that that was Harry Potter’s baby they were attacking; thank Merlin for school kids knowing the latest gossip in all things Potter. I apparated us to St. Mungo’s as soon as I regained my feet, Leo screaming in my ear all the while. I needed a headache potion for the screaming alone.”

            “I need to file a report on this. Will you be okay here until I can come back?” Harry asked and Draco agreed flippantly.

            Harry flooed back to the Auror Department and informed Head Auror Robards of what had happened. Robards was willing to take the case seriously, but he couldn’t let Harry work it, because it was his family who were the victims. He sent ahead a pair of relatively new Aurors to take the case. After a brief reminder not to take the law into one’s own hand and that justice was sweeter than revenge, Robards let Harry go.

            On his way back to the floo, Harry ran into Arthur Weasley in the lifts. He told the wizard what had happened with Draco and Leo. Arthur offered his well-wishes and said he’d send Molly along to help out at home once Draco was released. Harry thanked the man and continued on his way.

            Leo was still asleep in his crib when Harry returned, but Draco was being interviewed by the Aurors Robards had sent. Harry had to wait out in the hall, which was where he was when Ginny showed up.

            “Harry!” Ginny called, throwing herself into Harry’s arms, as if he’d been the one attacked.

            “Ginny! What are you doing here?” Harry asked, hugging her back, before pulling away to look at her.

            “Dad told me what happened.”

            “Yes, but remember that you can’t be around Leo until we make it official?”

            “I thought I’d offer you my support.” It was a weak excuse and only partially hid the truth that she was jealous of Draco and Leo getting all of Harry’s attention.

            “The Aurors are in there questioning them now. I guess you could stay, but you have to stay out here,” Harry said and Ginny reluctantly acquiesced.

            They sat back together, holding hands, and waited, Harry filling Ginny in on what happened.

            “Well I hope those women aren’t punished; they lost their husbands in this mess and have a right to be angry,” Ginny said when Harry finished.

            “One of those husbands was a Death Eater and Leo was hurt when Malfoy fell,” Harry retorted angrily.

            Ginny shrugged. “The other lady then shouldn’t be punished.”

            “The one who threw rotten fruit at my son when he was already injured and kept Malfoy down on the ground, instead of seeking immediate medical treatment?”

            “Well she didn’t know Leo was injured and she didn’t do it. Her husband was killed because of Malfoy’s lot. All she did was throw harmless food.”

            “Draco said Leo was screaming the entire time; she had to know he was injured.”

            “Babies cry.”

            “And Draco was critical to helping us win the war; he let us go and practically handed over a Horcrux.”

            “Yeah, except it was in a Gringott’s vault guarded by a dragon and you had no way in. If Bill hadn’t worked there and introduced you to that goblin Grimly who was part of that secret anti-human Goblin movement-”

            “Yes I know,” Harry interrupted. They had had to promise the goblins complete autonomous rule and freedom from the new government, even going so far as to sign a treaty, to gain access. It was only Harry and a bunch of Order members’ signatures, but after the war Kingsley promised to honor it. That adventure was also the source of the wand he had used to defeat Voldemort, having won it off of a Death Eater named Travers in Diagon Alley on their way into the bank. “Let’s just not talk about this anymore.” And that affectively ended the discussion before their disagreement could become heated.

            They sat there in awkward silence for another few minutes before Ginny said, “Well while you are all here, it’s the perfect time to have a paternity test done.”

            Harry groaned. “Not this again.”

            “Yes this again, Harry. You yourself told me that the spell wasn’t supposed to work without a relationship. How do you know that it did work and that Malfoy didn’t use some other spell? The resemblance to you could be superficial!” The tone she used clearly indicated that this was what she was hoping for.

            “I know Malfoy and I _know_ he’s not lying about this. Even if he were, I still want Leo and this is neither the time nor the place to discuss it,” Harry said.

            That effectively shut Ginny up and she sat back on her chair, petulantly folding her arms while she tried to think of a better way to broach the subject again. But she didn’t get the chance, because moments later the two Aurors on the case came out of the room and announced that they were off to Diagon Alley to gather evidence and look for witnesses. Harry thanked them, before going back into Draco’s room. Draco was just crawling back into bed with a crying Leo.

            “What’s wrong? Should I call the nurse? Is he going to be alright?” Harry asked frantically, taking the few steps to the bed as Draco lay back, Leo on his chest.

            “Calm down; I think he’s just hungry,” Draco replied, taking off his shirt to reveal a pair of very small breasts.

            There was maybe an inch of tissue there puffed out around a pair of dark nipples that seemed rather large for a bloke. Harry watched enraptured by the sight, unable to take his eyes off of it as Draco positioned himself inside Leo’s crying mouth. The cries were muffled and then replaced by the sound of suckling and still Harry watched.

            “Ew! What are you _doing_ , Harry!?!” Ginny screeched from the doorway.

            Harry tore his eyes away from Draco’s chest to look over his shoulder and see Ginny watching him. Then he looked back to Draco, meeting Draco’s accusatory stare.

            “What is she doing here?” Draco asked incredulously, covering himself and the baby up with a sheet.

            “Just checking to make sure you and Leo were alright. I’ll just, erm, go wait out in the hall and send her home,” Harry said, before turning and closing the door behind him.

            “Why were you drooling over Malfoy in there?” Ginny asked, moving to stand in front of Harry, confronting him.

            “I’d just never seen him feed Leo before,” Harry tried to explain away with a shrug. “It was no big deal.”

            “You were staring at Malfoy’s _breasts_ and you think it’s _no big deal_?”

            “He was feeding my son!” Harry defended himself as a pair of nurses stopped what they were doing and interrupted the argument.

            “I’m sorry, but one of you will have to leave immediately. Otherwise we will be forced to call security and you both will have to go. This is a hospital and you are disrupting the patients,” one of the nurses said with a tone of a reprimand. The other nurse was silent, with a stern look that backed up her partner.

            “You better go, Ginny,” Harry said sternly. He was not about to get kicked out of here because of her.

            “So you’re choosing him over me?”

            “No, I’m choosing Leo. Now go home and I’ll fire-call you later.”

            “Fine,” Ginny said with a huff. She turned on her heel and finally left.

            Harry was left to collapse into the chair in the hallway, wondering what that had just been about. Why was Ginny so unreasonable when it came to Draco and Leo?

            It was half an hour more before Harry was allowed back into the room with Draco. Now that Leo was done eating, a nurse sent for the healer. Healer Strudwick was an elderly wizard with thick glasses and gnarled looking fingers. He went straight to Leo and began a thorough examination of the baby, ignoring the two adults in the room.

            “Harry, I thought we made a deal that you’d keep Weasley away from us. And then when Leo is injured, what do you do? You bring your banshee with you to scream some more,” Draco said, pulling Harry’s attention away from the healer.

            “Look, I didn’t invite her, she just showed up, alright? I told her she had to wait out there if she was going to stay,” Harry defended.

            “She’s not still out there!?!” Draco’s tone was incredulous.

            “No, I sent her home.”           

            “Good. I don’t want her near Leo; especially not in his state.”

            “Fine. I’ll try harder to keep her away.”

            “Do you have any idea how much stress she causes when she’s around? It’s not good for him.”

            “I said fine, what more do you want?” Harry asked exasperated.  
            “This type of thing to stop happening. Every few days she shows up yelling. It’s like that’s her default state or something. Tell me, is effecting a normal tone of speech even possible for someone like her?”

            “Yes. Can we stop talking about her? Please?”

            “If you’ll stop bringing her around.”

            “I said I would.”

            “Then do it.”

            “I tried.”  
            “Try harder.”

            “Fine.”

            “Good,” Draco concluded. “And you’ll have to go shopping with us soon; I didn’t finish my shopping and it’s not safe for us in public.”

            “Alright, but I want to buy Leo a pram while we’re out. It’s the one thing you don’t seem to have and if you did, he wouldn’t have fallen when you were attacked,” Harry replied.

            “No, but the pram might have rolled away and been run over. I had a great aunt die in a pram as a baby; no Malfoy has used one ever since.”

            “That’s really too bad, but I’m sure something like that won’t happen again.”

            “Certainly not, because I won’t use one. They’re not safe. I’ve seen one roll away into a river and drown the baby.” Draco left out the subsequent rescue of the baby, because it was irrelevant.

            “What if I throw every protection charm ever invented on the thing first? I’ll charm it so that it floats up into the air if something is going to run it over. And I’ll make it float in water, in case it ends up in a river.”

            “If it flies, the baby might fall out and die.”

            “I’ll find one with sturdy safety straps and I’ll find a million other charms to throw at it.”

            “We’ll see. I reserve the right to toss it in the bin if it even looks the slightest bit unsafe.”

            “Alright,” Harry conceded, thinking that was the best he was going to get out of Draco.

            There was a quarter of an hour more of spell casting by the healer and recording notes in Leo’s chart, which was mostly filled with silence from the pair of parents. Then the healer finished with Leo and folded up the chart.

            “He’s fine. You may take him home,” the ancient wizard concluded briskly. Healer Strudwick had been a healer for about a century and had retired ages ago. But with the shortage of healers after the war, he’d been called back to service. As a result, he was out of practice dealing with patients and his bedside manner was severely lacking.

            Healer Strudwick was attempting to stroll out of the room without further explanation when Draco stopped him. “Wait!” Draco exclaimed. “What about his head? What if he goes to sleep and doesn’t wake up?”

            “He doesn’t have a concussion, Mr. Malfoy. He will wake up,” the healer drawled in a manner befitting the later Professor Snape.

            “But are there any side effects I need to watch out for with those potions he was given? He’s just a baby,” Draco added.

            “No, everything he was given is safe for infants,” Healer Strudwick reassured in that non-comforting way of his. “Really, I was able to determine that he is a perfectly healthy little boy in the first five minutes of my examination. All of the rest of it was standard diagnostic tests and measurements that he should have had done at his standard three-month check-up. I had to do them, because his file was blank after the birth. If you want to do something positive for your son’s health, find him a pediatric healer and take him for a routine check-up in three months.”

            While Draco was insisting that he wasn’t neglectful and would’ve taken Leo in to a healer before now if not for the war, Harry was thinking about his earlier fight with Ginny. He wanted to put it all out of his mind and be there for his son, but he couldn’t get her words out of his head. It occurred to him then that maybe this healer could provide some answers after all.

            “Um, sir? Can I ask you something?” Harry asked, just as Healer Strudwick had once again turned to leave.

            “Yes, Auror Potter? What is it?” the healer asked, with far more diffidence than he had shown for Draco. Apparently saving the world meant something to this old man; perhaps he had grandchildren.

            “I was just wondering what you know about fertility spells? It’s just that Malfoy here used one without my knowledge and as you can see by Leo’s presence, it worked. Do you know how that’s possible?” Harry asked.

            “It’s very simple Auror Potter. The spell works by measuring emotions, not by asking permission. It is irrelevant that you didn’t give the go ahead. Next time I suggest you be more careful with regards to where you stick your tally-whacker and dole out your lust,” Healer Strudwick said sternly.

            “But that’s just it! We never had sex. There was never any lust,” Harry protested.

            “That’s just what you have told the papers to hide your illicit affair. Magic is less easily fooled; you and Mr. Malfoy have obviously had some form of sexual contact or desire at least once.”

            “Ah no, we haven’t,” Harry replied. “Not at all.”

            “No? Not even a kiss or a thought?” Healer Strudwick asked, looking from Harry, who shook his head, to Draco.

            “No,” Draco said, but blushed because there had been the occasional thought on his part.

            The healer made a harrumphing sound and cast a spell. A ball of white light hit each young wizard on the side of the head. The balls appeared to go through their skulls, but changed direction upon exiting, so that they collided halfway between the two skulls in a burst of colorful light. The primary color in the burst was green, although there was also yellow green and at least two shades of blue present with a hint of violet.

            “Ah-ha, strong emotion!” Healer Strudwick exclaimed. “I must say it is unusual for there to be no reds in the spectrum, but a hint of passion might’ve tipped the scales. There certainly is no hate or loathing.”

            “Sir, what did you do? What did we just see?” Draco asked.

            “Primarily jealousy, envy, pleasure, and obsession, and lots of them. It was a spell to reveal emotions. Each emotion comes up a different color and you boys clearly _feel_ for each other,” the healer answered.

            “So that is why the fertility spell worked?” Harry asked.

            “Yes, now if you boys will excuse me, I really must be going,” Healer Strudwick said and strolled from the room, his lime green healer robes billowing out behind him.

            “Mystery solved; let’s go home,” Draco concluded, gathering up his things, which included a large bag from the linen store. His purchases had been shrunk, but they were numerous and the bedding set, including new pillows, was bulky.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there’s the explanation for why the spell worked; well at least part of the explanation. The inspiration for the solution came from chatting with one of my beloved readers, glassf1re. What do you think? Does it properly explain how Draco was able to make it work? Do you think it’d work for him a second time? And do you think they need a paternity test, when Harry doesn’t want one?  
> Please Review!


	7. Chapter7

            Draco must’ve been in a talkative mood, because that evening, after super, he said, “Potter, I think we need to talk about what happened today.”

            Harry had been about to pull out a book from the bookcase in the drawing room, but he pushed the book back into its spot, turned, and sat on the sofa instead. “Alright,” he conceded.

            Sitting on the armchair, Draco was crossing his arms defensively. “I don’t like that I was attacked with Leo. All I was doing was buying curtains for the nursery and new linens for that awful room, and those two widows came for me. And the worst part is that Leo was caught in the middle and hurt. As a parent, failing to protect your child is one of the worst feelings imaginable.”

            “I’m sorry that happened and I’m grateful that the two of you are fine now. I think it’d be best if I went with you on shopping trips for now; just until the public realizes that you aren’t a Death Eater anymore and leaves you alone.”

            “Alright, but it wasn’t just a widow from your side who attacked me; I got it from both sides, starting with a Death Eater’s widow. They blame me for being a Death Eater and they blame me for not being a Death Eater enough. I can’t win.”

            “For now, but once the public cottons on to the fact that you’re with me and that’s my son you’re carting around, then things will change. I won’t say they will be better, because knowing Skeeter you’ll still be attacked by reporters, but it will no longer be because people hate you.”

            “So you think that because people love you, that they’ll stop hating me?”

            “Yeah, basically.”

            “I think they’ll hate me all the more, for having your baby when I don’t deserve you. And what is worse, is that Leo will still be in the middle of it.”

            “Well then I’ll have to make them see. I’m sure if they see us together enough as a family, then they’ll figure it out. And I’ll try to come up with something nice to say about you next time the reporters swarm me for a sound bite.”

            “And how are you going to reconcile our “family” with your dating Weasley?”

            “Keep the two of you away from each other?”

            “That would be nice for a start, but it’s more than that. Rumors are going to fly. They are going to say that you are leading a double life; that you are with both of us romantically. And they are going to ask about Leo’s conception.”

            Harry got the distinct impression that Draco didn’t want the reporters digging into the circumstances surrounding Leo’s conception. Given that Draco was already concerned with the public hating him, it was understandable. “Well Malfoy, what do you want me to tell them about it?”

            “I don’t want them to know it was anything other than the usual. I don’t want Leo to know that he wasn’t made in love or that he was just another chess piece at play in the war. I want him to feel loved and special. I want him to think you want him too.”

            “I do want him, honestly, I do. I’ve always wanted a family and Leo is great. I keep picturing having him and Teddy for the weekends. We’ll do typical father-son things like going to the park and flying and I could read him a story at night.”

            “You could do some of those things now. Not the flying, but you could take him to the park or read to him. He likes when I read to him.”

            “You’d let me take Leo without you to the park?”  
            Draco cringed at the thought. “When he’s older, yes, but right now I would prefer to go with you. What if he gets hungry and I’m not there? Or what if he starts crying and you don’t know what to do?”

            Harry was a bit surprised that Draco was offering to go with, instead of flat out refusing the trip; it seemed like a rather grownup thing to do. Come to think of it, this entire conversation was rather adult of them. Maybe, if things kept going like this, they could eventually work their way up to acting like normal separated parents. It was a heartwarming thought that brought a smile to the corner of his lips. “Alright, you can come with me. Let’s do the park soon. I’ll fire-call Dromeda and see if she and Teddy can come.”

            “That sounds nice. And maybe you will turn out to be right about people thinking more highly of me, if I’m seen out with you. It couldn’t hurt to try.”

            “Good. I’m glad we had this talk; that was a good idea,” Harry said.

            “We aren’t done yet.”

            “We’re not?”  
            “No, we’re not. Besides the fact that you haven’t told me how you feel, we still have to talk about your girlfriend.”

            Harry didn’t want to talk about Ginny, so he decided to go with the first topic and hope Draco would drop the second. “I’m supposed to tell you how I feel?”

            “That is how it’s generally done, yes. Whenever something happens with me, my parents sit our family down and we each tell each other how we feel. We don’t do so outside the family,” here Draco shuddered, “but within the family that is a privilege we enjoy with each other. It keeps families close. I know Leo’s not old enough to participate yet, but I’d like to get things established early on so that we develop good habits.”

            “Alright, let me give it a go,” Harry said, trying to think of how to put his feeling into words. It wasn’t something he ever had to do before, not even with Ginny, but it sounded like the type of thing a healthy family might do. He wanted to have a healthy family, for his son’s sake. “I was panicked when I heard, because I wasn’t there and I didn’t know what had happened or how bad it was. Then I was relieved when I found out that the two of you weren’t hurt worse than you were. And I was happy when Healer Strudwick said Leo would be fine and we could take him home.”

            “Good to know. Is there anything else you want to add, or are you ready to move onto the topic of Weasley?”

            His feelings exhausted, Harry saw no choice but to move on. “Look, I didn’t invite her over and I told her she couldn’t come into the room. I’m sorry she keeps screaming and upsetting Leo.”

            “She’s not only upsetting Leo. She makes me feel like a criminal who has no right to be around you. Like I shouldn’t be in your house, with your baby, and with you visiting us in hospital. I’m some sort of scum that is supposed to stay hidden on the bottom of her shoe, only I keep popping up in front of her.”

            There was a long silence then as Draco waited for a response and Harry felt increasing pressure to say something. Draco was looking at him expectantly, clearly waiting, and refused to say anything until he did. Only he didn’t know what to say. Finally, he just blurted out what was on the tip of his tongue, “I don’t know what to do about that. She’s my girlfriend, so she’s going to be around sometimes, even if I try to keep her away. She doesn’t like you and it’s hard for me to blame her.”

            “Because you blame me too.”

            “No, not as much as she does. Are you forgetting the Chamber of Secrets? Your family has done a lot of nasty shite to her.”

            “That was my father, not me. I suppose the son is guilty of his father’s crimes and Leo will spend his lifetime paying for mine and my father’s.”

            “No, it’s not like that.”

            “It’s not? Leo won’t have my mistakes hanging over his head like I have my father’s?”

            “No, he won’t. I won’t let it be like that. And I won’t let Ginny keep holding what your father did over you, but there are still plenty of things you personally have done to her and her family. And when you do see her, you always have a nasty or snide remark for her; that’s what I was mostly referring to when I said I could see why she dislikes you. Try being nice to her if you want her to be nice to you.” That came out rather well and Harry started feeling proud of himself, like he could do this being an adult thing.

            “Even if she doesn’t like me, she shouldn’t be transferring the blame to Leo. If this keeps up, he’s going to grow up thinking that he’s not wanted. If you have children with her, she’s not going to include them in with him. He’s going to be the unwanted stepson.”

            “I don’t want that. I guess I can talk to her about the screaming…”

            “You need to do more than talk to her about the screaming. She either needs to accept Leo in your life or _never_ , not even for a nanosecond, be present at the same time and place, even if it’s just waiting out in the hall. I won’t have my son treated that way. It’s not fair to him. He didn’t ask to be born into this mess, so he shouldn’t be the one to suffer for it. If I have to pay, so be it, but he won’t.”

            “What do you mean, if you have to pay?”

            “I was betrothed to Pansy Parkinson. Obviously that future is lost to me now. Instead of being forced into an unhappy marriage, I’ll be a single father. Instead of finding another adult to love, I’ll be alone with Leo, with only him to love. I won’t get the daughter or the spouse I always wanted; I could do without Pansy and I’m glad to be rid of her, but I always imagined that I would have what my parents have with someone. Now no one will want me, because of all the baggage I come with. I don’t just have a child with someone, I have a child with someone who hates me and whose girlfriend loathes me.”

            Harry had never thought about what Draco was giving up, but now the sympathy crept up on him and he felt a pang in his heart for the wizard. Maybe, just maybe, he should try to make things easier for Draco. “I don’t hate you. And I’ll have a talk with Ginny about Leo.”

            Draco nodded curtly and rushed off to his room, his face an unreadable mask. Harry sat there on the sofa and wondered about what had just happened and why Draco had rushed off so quickly. Might Draco have been crying?

            The promising lead on Greyback’s son from that morning was completely forgotten in the turmoil of the day. The Aurors worked it without Harry and wouldn’t have let Harry go out in the field on this one even if he had pressed them on it, because he simply didn’t have enough training.

 

* * *

 

 

            They did go shopping the next day. The reporters were on them before they even exited out of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, which they had flooed into, specifically trying to avoid the mob that followed Harry. Outside the shop, which George later said was brilliant publicity, the three of them posed for a photo and Harry even gave a sound bite.

            “Yesterday, my son, Leo, and his father were attacked right here in Diagon Alley while trying to shop peacefully. Leo was injured and had to be taken to St. Mungo’s. Is this the thanks I get for destroying Voldemort for you people? I don’t appreciate my family being attacked and it needs to stop immediately. Consider this fair warning, because next time it happens, I’ll go after the culprit like I would Voldemort himself.” Harry wouldn’t have said it to protect himself, but he did it for Leo.

            Draco, it turned out, wanted books and a new owl, since his owl had also been killed during the war. For Harry, the owl emporium was just a little too soon, because the wound from losing Hedwig was still too new, so he waited outside, holding Leo. By the time Draco came back with his new eagle owl, Harry had drawn a small crowd of admirers, asking about and cooing over Leo. Then they went into the bookstore together, Harry taking Leo over to look at the baby books. Their final stop was the baby store.

            There were a number of things Harry wanted in relation to his planned proposal to Ginny, but he decided not to buy any of them with Draco looking over his shoulder. He did, however, buy a very expensive double pram that was already charmed with dozens of safety features, including that it recognized the parents and wouldn’t let someone else just walk off with the baby nor roll without someone actively pushing it. Harry would still have to ask Hermione to help him add a few more safety features, such as floating, but having it partially pre-charmed would save him loads of time. And it was a double, which meant that there was room for Teddy.

* * *

 

 

            That night, Draco called Harry into the nursery to help him put Leo to bed. “Here,” he said, handing Harry a children’s book about magical ducklings. There was soft lullaby music coming from a Wizard’s Wireless in the corner, giving the air a tranquil feel. Every so often the radio would let out a tweet, peep, cheep, or even the occasional twitter sound, as if it was determined to be the soundtrack for the night’s story.

            Harry opened the book, holding it out above the crib for Leo to see, since the baby had already been dressed in pajamas and put down. It was a bit of an awkward position for reading, but he wanted his son to be able to see the bright colorful pictures and the letters were large enough for him to make out at an angle. Besides, there was only one seat in the room, the rocking chair, and Draco was already sitting in it.

            “Oooo,” Leo cooed excitedly, flapping his hands in the direction of the book. He was sitting up on his own unassisted. With all the contraptions Draco had and the amount Leo was held, Harry hadn’t realized his son was so proficient at sitting, but he was. All of that time the baby spent squiggling on his side must’ve been by choice.

            “Alright Leo, let’s see,” Harry started, looking at the title page with four colorful ducks. “The Four Magical Ducklings.” Then he wondered if he was doing it right and turned to look at Draco, who was watching him from the rocking chair. He locked eyes with Draco; was Draco judging him? Was there something else he was supposed to be doing? Draco always seemed to talk with his hands, acting out the story with his body and Harry wondered if that was what he was supposed to be doing too. Should he try to act out a duck?

            Draco smirked and made a circular motion with his hand that seemed to say, “Get on with it.”

            Harry looked back to Leo and the book. He turned the page and read, “Blue duck, red duck, yellow duck, green. Four magical ducklings.” He pointed to the proper colored duck as he read and then turned the page, the radio making the sound of a scale played on a xylophone. “Blue duck jumps and flaps his wings, magic blowing in the breeze. The mossy log provides a safe landing, away from the dangerous grindylows below in the bog.” Another page turn, again with the accompanied xylophone. “Red duck lands in the muck, what bad luck, his shoddy spell casting surely sucks.” Page. “Mellow yellow duck shrugs and goes the long away around; he doesn’t ruffle his feathers with a charm or a twitter, not when it could mess up his crown!” Another turn of the page. “Lucky green duck breathes in deep and takes a running leap; magic catching under wing, green duck jumps clear across the muck with a, ‘Cheep, cheep, cheep!’” A final page turn and the triumphant call of a trumpet from the radio. “The end.”

            That was the shortest book Harry could remember reading, ever. It certainly wasn’t the best either. He looked down at Leo, trying to judge what affect the story had on his son. It was supposed to be a bedtime story, but if anything it had excited the kid, because Leo was happily munching on his fingers, drool running down his hand, while he bounced on his bottom. It definitely hadn’t put the baby to sleep, but Harry had to admit that Leo certainly liked to be read to.

            “What now?” Harry asked, cocking his head to the side to see Draco, while still keeping Leo in his sight.

            “Now we turn off the light and sit quietly until he gets tired of us, lays down, and puts himself to sleep,” Draco answered, before casting a Nox on the lights.

            Harry stood awkwardly over the crib for a minute, his eyes adjusting to the dark. There was a Clabbert-shaped nightlight that emitted a small amount of light, which shined off of Leo’s open green eyes.

            “How long does this take?” Harry whispered.

            “As long as it takes. Longer if you don’t shut it, PaPa.”

            “But his eyes are wide open—I can see—maybe he’s not sleepy.”

            “He will be. One more peep out of you and I’m kicking you out of the room, PaPa.”

            “Alright _Father_ ,” Harry emphasized, since Draco insisted on calling him that pompous version of papa, “but he’s staring at me. Are you sure we shouldn’t leave the room or do something? Don’t you normally sing?” Harry could recall a great many times when Draco’s singing could be heard in Grimmauld Place and they’d only been here a little over a week. The radio was still emitting soft noise, although the nature of it seemed to have changed to boring soothing sounds. Why wasn’t it playing a lullaby at least?

            “If we both leave, he’ll scream and never go to sleep. And I only sing to calm him down and get him in the mood for bed, because it entertains him and keeps him up. Now out with you; you’re keeping him awake!” Draco hissed quietly, clearly irritated by Harry’s inability to just shut up and be quiet.

            “Fine. Night Leo, PaPa loves you,” Harry whispered, leaning down to kiss Leo on top of his messy head of hair.

            Then Harry exited the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Draco to the seemingly impossible task of putting a baby to sleep by doing nothing for a sufficient period of time. He was about to head upstairs to his own room to bathe, but then he heard the sound of Leo’s whining cry and it stopped him. He thought Leo was crying for him, because he left and Leo wanted him, which brought a smile to his face. He hesitated a moment and then leaned up against the door.

            Draco’s voice was soft and soothing. It was muffled by the door, but Harry had heard the formally unfamiliar song enough times in the last week to recognize it as Schlafe, mein Prinzchen. He’d gotten the translation of the title, which was Sleep, My Little Prince, from Draco the other day, but didn’t know the other words.

            _I knew it! He does sing Leo to sleep!_ Harry thought to himself. A year ago he would’ve ascribed a malicious motivation behind the deception, but now he didn’t. He just thought that Draco wasn’t yet ready to share all of the secrets of bedtime. Maybe Draco worried that if Harry knew, then Leo could be taken away and Draco left behind. Or maybe Draco simply didn’t realize what he was doing.

* * *

 

 

            The new pram wasn’t yet ready the next day for their trip to the park with Teddy, but that was alright, because Draco was used to carrying Leo on his hip. Dromeda had Teddy’s single pram and no qualms about using it, so Harry pushed the newborn in it, Dromeda walking alongside. Both babies were too little to enjoy the playground or the little duck pond, but they spread out a picnic blanket in the shade and enjoyed the light breeze. They brought snacks and drinks with them and sat there chatting and having a nice time. Harry mostly listened as Draco and Dromeda got to know each other, each telling stories about the person they had in common in their lives: Narcissa.

            And then Leo exclaimed, “Guck!” and lurched out towards the grass, falling onto his stomach from his formally sitting position.

            They all looked up at the baby, Draco pausing mid-sentence in telling Dromeda about something his mother had done when he was little. Sure enough, one of the ducks had waddled towards the picnic blanket and was pecking at something in the grass a mere ten feet away.

            “Guck! Guck!” Leo exclaimed again. He was reaching his little hands out towards the bird, which took off several feet into the air, squawking, and lurched backwards, away from the baby.

            “Oh, my word,” Dromeda said, reaching her hand towards her mouth in surprise.

            “He just said duck! That’s his first word,” Draco said excitedly.

            “Guck! Guck! Guck!” Leo continued, yelling louder.

            “Do you think he got that from the book I read him last night?” Harry asked, also excited.

            “Yes, I read it to him all the time. Quick, transfigure his teddy bear into a harmless duck,” Draco answered, Leo’s cries increasing in fervor as he didn’t get what he wanted.

            “What?” Harry questioned.

            “Transfigure this stuffed animal into a duck.” Draco was shoving the toy at Harry now.

            “Why me? Why can’t you do it?” Harry was worried he might do it wrong, leave a sharp talon on, and accidentally get Leo hurt. He trusted Draco with Leo more than he trusted himself.

            “Because if you haven’t noticed, I failed sixth year transfigurations and was too busy having a baby last year to make it up. I can mostly only transfigure inanimate objects. And I only got into the NEWT level class because I can transfigure an apple into a dragon. He’s not asking for a dragon, he’s asking for a duck.”

            At this point Leo was no longer shouting anything recognizable as a possible word, but screaming at the top of his lungs, clenching and unclenching his hands in a fruitless attempt to reach the bird, which had flown clear away of the noisy little human.

            “Oh give it here, you two,” Dromeda intervened, seizing the stuffed toy and instantly transfiguring it into a living duck, only without the claws or the sharp beak.

            Dromeda handed over the toy to Leo; the duck tried to squawk in protest, but the noise was muffled by its soft cloth beak. Leo stopped crying immediately, clutching the toy tightly. The baby rolled over onto his back, clutched the struggling pseudo-animal to his chest, and laughed, tears still glistening on his cheeks.

            Draco leaned over and wiped the little face with a burp cloth. “There, you got your duck. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

            Harry stared on in amazement of the whole situation, from Leo saying his first word to actually getting his way by his great aunt transfiguring a toy into a living duck. Harry recalled his own childhood when all he had to play with were stones, cheap toy soldiers, and Dudley’s castaways. No one would ever have given him a duck if he’d asked for one, no matter how big of a fit he’d thrown. But maybe Draco would’ve gotten his way. Draco, who was as spoiled as Dudley.

            “You’re spoiling him, aren’t you?” Harry accused Draco.

            “What?” Draco asked surprised, not knowing what Harry meant.

            “You are giving our son every little thing he wants. Now it’s a duck, next it’ll be a dragon.”

            “A dragon would be easier for me to do,” Draco admitted, not getting Harry’s point at all.

            “You can’t just give him everything he wants, right when he wants it.”

            “Why not? That’s what my parents did with me.”

            “And look how spoiled you turned out. He needs to learn that he can’t always get what he wants and that he has to work for it.”

            “He’s a baby; he’s not going off to work in a factory to earn a toy. He said the word. Duck’s a hard word to say for a four and a half-month-old baby,” Draco argued.

            “Okay, maybe indulging him this once is okay, but did it really have to be a living duck? Look, it’s almost gotten away from him.” Harry pointed to the duck, which was flapping its wings in an attempt to break free, but was held onto by one ankle in Leo’s chubby little hand.

            “Transfigure its bones back to cotton then.” Draco reached over to grab hold of the duck around the body, but it was harder to do than it looked, because the bird was moving. Thankfully Leo found the whole thing amusing and was laughing as he held on.

            “Why don’t you do it?” Harry asked Draco.

            “Because if I do it, the bones might break instead of turning into cotton. Do you really want our son’s first duck to suffer so, PaPa?”

            Just then the bird broke free from both Leo and Draco and flapped its wings once to gain altitude. Harry jumped and caught it around the mangled leg. He held it by the neck, steadied his wand, and transfigured it back into a stuffed animal, although retaining the duck shape. “There. Leo shouldn’t be given real animals to play with; he can have stuffed ones,” Harry said handing the toy back over to Leo, who sat up to reach for it.

            “Guck?” Leo asked in a much more subdued tone, clutching the animal to his chest as he sat on his bum.

            “Yes Leo, this is your toy duck. The other duck is too wild for a baby,” Harry replied.

            “Guck guck?” Leo asked.

            “Yes, it’s still a duck, Leo, it’s a toy duck. Father can charm it to chirp, can’t you?” Harry asked Draco.

            Charms were something Draco was proficient in. He quickly cast a few spells on the stuffed toy, making it seem more lifelike. Now it ruffled its feathers, held its wings aloft, opened and closed its eyes, and made loud quacking sounds.

            “Guck!” Leo exclaimed excitedly, tossing the stuffed bird into the air. He watched as it flapped its wings and came down nearby, a foot in front of him. He plopped himself onto his stomach, and scooted and wiggled as best he could. But he couldn’t crawl yet, so he couldn’t reach the bird.

            Draco handed Leo back the stuffed toy. “I don’t see what the big deal was about. It wasn’t dangerous; Aunt Dromeda saw to that,” Draco said. “I bet my cousin was given live animals to play with.”

            They both looked then to Dromeda, who said, “If it shut Dora up, you bet I did. But leave me out of this; this argument is between you two parents to figure out.”

            “The big deal is that I don’t want him getting used to getting his way all of the time. Think how much of a nightmare he’ll be when he’s a toddler if you spoil him rotten now,” Harry replied.

            “I have to spoil him; he’s a Malfoy and it’s expected of a Malfoy to be spoiled. If I don’t, I’ll be accused of neglecting the Potter baby. There will be stories in the Prophet about how he’s not being treated like any other Malfoy would. Then you will convince the Wizengamot to take him away from me and give him to your Weasley.”

            “Trust me, with the way Ginny is about him, I wouldn’t want her having him. And if anyone does accuse you of neglecting him, I’ll go on the record saying that it is me who doesn’t want him to have live animals yet.”

            “Promise?”

            “Yes, I promise,” Harry reassured.

            “Did you hear that, Aunt Dromeda?” Draco asked.

            “Yes, and I’ll testify to it in a court of law,” Dromeda answered with a bored drawl, knowing what her nephew was after.

            During Leo’s entire adventure with the ducks, Teddy was lying quietly in his bouncer chair. He let out squeaks of excitement too and grabbed at his toy bar, since he couldn’t reach the actual duck. When the bird almost got away, Teddy’s eyes jumped immediately to Harry catching it. He’d tried to hold his own hands out in hopes of getting a chance with the new toy, but he was once again overlooked by the older baby. Well if he couldn’t get a duck of his own, maybe he could make one.

            Harry looked over to Teddy, checking that his godson was okay. Teddy was fine, except he had a contemplative look on his face, like he was concentrating very hard on something. Harry guessed it was a turd and hoped Dromeda would change it.

            In the meantime, Leo rolled over onto his side and fell asleep, his duck pressed to his chest. Free of its keeper, the bird struggled slowly, but surely it went. It broke free and paused in front of Teddy’s chair, letting out a loud squawk. To which Teddy replied, “Uuuh.

            Dromeda picked the toy up and handed it over to Teddy, who squealed with delight. He put the soft beak of the toy in his mouth first, then he grunted and appeared to be taking a dump. He squirmed, grunted, and pushed and then a beak popped up on top of his nose. It was a small beak at first that barely covered his little nose, but then he kept right on grunting and squirming until the appendage grew and resembled a full-sized beak.

            Harry was the first one to notice, “Hey everyone, look at Teddy. He’s trying to _look_ like a bird!”

            Draco and Dromeda looked. “Dora started doing that around the same age, but I think she was a little older.

            “So Teddy changed into his first animal and Leo said his first word today. And here you were, PaPa, thinking that our boys were too little to do anything with,” Draco said with a smirk, lying back on the blanket with his hands under his head.

            “I guess you were right. Thank you for the nice family outing.”

            Draco had been thinking of all of the snarky retorts he could use, but none of them worked well in back of Thank you. Thus he nodded and kept his comments to himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think? My daughter used to tell me the word guck all the time when she was a baby.  
> Up next Harry will propose to Ginny. Does anyone have any ideas?  
> Please Review!


	8. Chapter8

            That Saturday Harry put aside to prepare everything he’d need to propose to Ginny. He went shopping for the second time that week, this time without Draco, and bought a ring and a new set of dress robes; he’d had to buy new ones, because Draco was not willing to clean for him again. He’d contacted Molly earlier in the week about making a family dinner and inviting the whole Weasley clan over; she was going to make Sunday dinner anyway, so she only had to contact Percy, George, and Charlie about coming after all. And he decided what he was going to say; ultimately he went with keeping it short, so he wouldn’t stick his foot in his mouth.

            Ron came back that weekend, without Hermione. Their mission wasn’t going well and she’d stayed behind to see it through, while he’d come back for Auror training, which was to start the following Monday. The start of Auror training was one of the reasons Harry wanted to get it done that weekend. The other of course being that Draco had forbidden Ginny from coming around Leo until their relationship was official.

            Draco was still staying with Harry at Grimmauld Place, taking care of Leo. It really didn’t appear like he ever did much, but then Leo was a lot of work. The only thing Draco did seem to be doing was slowly taking over the place, leaving more and more of his stuff all over the house. Once the nursery was complete, he’d started on redecorating Hermione’s old room with the linens purchased the day they ended up in hospital; thankfully Harry had ordered Kreacher to tell him before following Draco’s orders to toss anything. Harry happened to be there at the time and managed to get all of her things into a sack _without_ first being chucked. This morning Draco seemed to be taking the drawing room over the way he was leaving his things all over the room.

            Harry considered inviting Draco and Leo to the engagement dinner. Draco was part of his family now and he wanted his son to be there, but he decided against it. He didn’t want to chance Draco ruining it. Draco was still mad about the times Ginny’s screaming and yelling had disturbed Leo and sneered whenever Harry mentioned her. Thus it was best if Draco wasn’t there and Harry didn’t even bother asking if Leo could go without Draco, because he knew Draco would say no.

            A cool breeze ran through the warm summer night air as Harry and the Weasleys gathered around the fold-out table set up on the Weasley’s lawn, since the full family was too large for the kitchen. Several mouths watered as they waited to dig into the feast of Molly’s amazing cooking. The smell of her delicious Sheppard’s pie was add last, as the large rectangular shaped extra-large pie was levitated out from the kitchen, steam visibly wafting off of it. Even the gnomes fighting in the garden paused to sigh appreciatively at the smell.

            The palms of Harry’s hands were sweating profusely as the moment neared, the underarms of his shirt feeling moist. This was an important event for him. He reckoned that it would be one of the most important moments of his life if everything worked out the way he hoped. He wanted to remember the occasion forever, so he looked to each person, taking in their appearance and stowing the information away in his memory.

            Fleur was radiant as she leaned into Bill, whose arm was affectionately draped around her middle, pulling her tighter. Molly and Arthur, holding hands and exchanging heartfelt looks, were across from Harry and were just as in love as ever. Then sat Charlie awkwardly next to Percy, the two brothers not having had much of a chance to reconnect after Percy’s turnaround. Percy’s mousy looking girlfriend sat abandoned and looking forlorn next to him at the end.

            On the other side of the table was George, flanked by Lee Jordan on one side and Angelina on the other, needing his two best friends to help him get through the family dinner without Fred by his side. George was laughing and joking, but his face was tight and the jovial sounds had a forced ring. On Harry’s other side at the end was Dromeda, grey streaked hair and heavy wrinkles marking her aging, but with a straight back and a strong will to continue; Teddy was asleep in the house he knew, with a monitoring charm set to make sure they were alerted if he stirred. Next sat Ron, looking out of place without Hermione by his side, but chatting amicably with Dromeda. And then, right next to him, was Ginny.

            Long vibrant red hair gleamed as it caught the sunlight and clashed with the pastel yellow dress Ginny wore. Her smile softened her strong jaw and her eyes were filled with happiness and merriment. In that moment, she was his dream. She was the person Harry had survived the war for and the person he’d come back to after his death in the forest. She was perfect.

            “Before we begin, I believe Harry has something he would like to say,” Arthur announced, flashing Harry a smile of approval.

            “Er, thanks, Mr. Weasley.” Harry’s nerves led to a bit of clumsiness. As he stood, his foot caught on the bench and he tripped, falling back down and catching himself on the table with the palms of his hands, making the punch inside its decorative bowl splash back and forth. “Opps. Excuse me.” He rose again and this time cleared the bench, allowing him to kneel in front of Ginny, who was still seated on the bench right next to him, but had turned to the side to face him. “Um, Ginny, would you, ah, marry me?” Harry asked, holding out the opened box with the ring.

            “Yes!” Ginny answered giddily, jumping up into Harry’s arms.

            Ginny had been hot and cold with Harry since the night of the Ministry dinner. He was pleasantly surprised that she was being so receptive to him now. _I must make her happy_ , he thought with a large dopey smile on his face. Finally everything was settling in. He was marrying his dream woman, joining the family he’d wanted to be a part of since he was eleven years old, and he had Teddy and Leo.

            Just as Ginny had prophesized, the papers had had a field day with the white stain on her blouse. They hadn’t just speculated, but gone so far as to make up reports of her being seen sucking him off just before the dinner. Draco had then taken it upon himself to write to the papers, informing the people of the nation that it hadn’t been Harry who she was with right before the dinner, because Harry had been at Grimmauld Place with him and not her. Given that the other lead story following the dinner was the fact that Draco had had Harry’s baby, rumors went flying and stories of trouble in paradise had been printed every day since, helped out by the shopping trip he’d gone on with Draco and Leo and being spotted together in the park. It was now speculated that she was involved with another bloke, who she’d been with just prior to the dinner, in retribution for Harry cheating on her with Draco.

            Molly at least knew the truth about where Ginny had been, but she jumped to different conclusions and decided that the stain must have come from sexual activity the last time Ginny had worn the blouse the week before the dinner. And since Molly and Arthur had just learned that Ginny was sexually active, they weren’t hearing any of Harry’s protests otherwise. Harry distinctly got the impression that the Weasley parents were pushing him to go ahead with the engagement as quickly as possible, because they thought that this engagement was the only proper way to rectify this situation. Since that was what Harry wanted, he decided not to press the issue.

            “There’s no one who’s happier for this lousy sod more than me,” Ron proclaimed, clapping his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Now let’s eat.”

            That was seconded and the large party soon sat down to feast and celebrate. It was a good night. Ginny was happier than Harry had ever seen her and she made sure to transfer that happiness into attention and affection towards him. It was like old times and suddenly they were snogging teenagers in the Gryffindor common room again. Only this time, they didn’t have a care in the world, since Voldemort was good and dead. There was a bubble of euphoria surrounding them wherever they went, offering hope as to how wonderful life would be once they were married and living the rest of their lives together.

            Harry was in such a good mood that it didn’t even occur to him that not everyone would be happy for him. He went home that night with a grin from ear to ear and fell back on the sofa in a state of euphoria, heedless of the fact that Draco and Leo were already on the sofa.

            “Are you drunk?” Draco asked, sounding disgusted with Harry. He had been burping their child while listening to the radio. Leo wasn’t easily burped these days, since he was so mobile and didn’t think he had to sit still for it. But when it was this late and Leo was this tired, he put up with it. Draco wasn’t at all pleased by Harry’s state or the fact that Harry was so close to the baby in such a state.

            “No,” Harry said, before letting out a small alcoholic burp. “Maybe a little.” He hadn’t really been paying attention to what or how much he was drinking. Most of his present state was due to the extreme happiness he felt, not the alcohol.

            “The Weasleys are a bad influence on you. Stay away from Leo after being with them. I have half a mind to ban all the Weasleys from coming near him and not just your banshee.”           

            “Oh, Ginny! But you don’t have to worry about her anymore.”

            “Did you two break up then?” Draco was pleased by this idea.

            “No, we’re engaged. Now I can bring her around Leo again.”

            “You’re what?” Draco’s voice was an icy fury.

            “Engaged. I asked her to marry me tonight and she said yes.” Harry was too pleased with himself to notice Draco’s mood.

            Draco simply cast an ice water charm at Harry’s bits and stormed off to the nursery, Leo still on his shoulder, leaving the radio going.

            Harry screeched and his hands darted to cover his bits after the fact. At least the ice water had the effect of sobering him up enough to enable him to cast a drying charm on himself. Then he slumped over and fell asleep right there on the drawing room sofa, radio still playing.

* * *

 

            Draco came back later that night with a Sober-Up potion and after turning the music off, woke Harry up. He forced Harry to drink it, before saying, “Potter, we need to talk.”

            “Again? Didn’t we just do that?” Harry asked, sitting up and yawning.

            “Yes, again. Every time you upset me, I’m going to want to talk about it. Stop upsetting me if you don’t want to talk.”

            “Er, why are you upset now? I did what you wanted; I made a commitment to Ginny so that I could bring her around Leo.”

            “I would rather you marry a blast ended skrewt! I told you how awful she is to Leo and why I don’t want him growing up around someone who hates him. Have you at least talked to her about what we talked about?”

            Harry and Ginny never talked. Or if they talked, it was never about feelings or anything important. They’d talk about sex and Quidditch and which funerals they were going to attend. He’d gone over to the Weasleys a couple of times since promising Draco to talk to her about Leo, but each time he’d forgotten. George had a new invention that he just had to see right that minute or they needed to decide if they were going to the next Ministry thing right then and there or they happened to have the next fifteen minutes to sneak away for a bit of snogging. Whichever excuse it was, he’d let the resolve slip in the face of Ginny and the daunting task of talking to her about something serious.

            “No, but I’m going to. I’ve been meaning to, but I keep forgetting,” Harry replied.

            “Do you even know what it’s like not to feel wanted? I know everyone worshipped you and you were probably spoiled worse than me growing up, but there were people who I wasn’t welcomed by, because of my father. Slughorn was one of them; he was good friends with my grandfather and my father was part of his little club back in the day. But, it didn’t matter how well I did in his class, because the son of a Death Eater wasn’t welcome with him. Let me tell you; it felt bloody awful the way he treated me, especially on top of all of the stress I was under from the Dark Lord and everyone hating me because my father was captured attacking you. I wouldn’t wish a moment of that on my son.”

            “I do know what’s it’s like,” Harry answered softly. He was feeling the emotions of Draco’s admission and instead of getting angry, he actually felt like baring his inner feelings for once.

            “You do? Oh, Umbridge, right?”

            “Her, but not just her. My relatives too.”

            “Your relatives don’t worship you?” Draco asked, looking at Harry with wide, concerned eyes for the first time. The look wasn’t pity, but warm somehow, as if Draco’s disbelief was because the Dursleys would have to be crazy not to want Harry.

            “No,” Harry admitted, before giving Draco a brief synopsis of what his life growing up had been like.

            When Harry finished, Draco replied, “Wow, I don’t know what to say. No child, not even a speccy scar-head like you, should be treated like that by their family.”

            “Thanks.”

            “So you know even better than I do how awful it feels to be unwanted, especially by your family.”

            “Yes, I believe I do.”

            “Then how can you be okay with your son going through that pain? Don’t you want him to have a better life than you? I know I want him to have a better one than I have had; that is why I bowed out of the war and promised that I would never be a Death Eater again. That’s why I let you go and gave you the information you needed to defeat the Dark Lord.” Draco’s tone was open and honest.

            “I haven’t really thought about it, but I guess you’re right; I don’t want that for him. I’ll talk to Ginny,” Harry said reluctantly. It felt like he was being pulled in two directions. On one side was Leo with Draco and on the other was Ginny. The Weasleys and his friends would probably side with her, but Dromeda and Teddy, if their trip to the park was anything to go by, might just prefer Draco and Leo. Whenever he chose to spend time with one of them, it was like being pulled away from the other. Draco was demanding he talk to Ginny and she would probably say Draco and Leo were taking over his life and demand he cut them out.

            “Remember what I said about this situation not being fair to Leo and about Weasley either growing up and treating him properly or staying away. That holds true even if you are engaged to her now,” Draco gave one final warning.

            “Alright, I’ll talk to her tomorrow, I promise,” Harry said, yawning again.

            Draco nodded and then they both went off to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one seemed much enthusiastic about the engagement, so I kept it short. Up next Harry will have that talk with Ginny…I wonder how that should go. Do you think she’ll finally manage to take something well for once? She did just apparently win, having gained Harry’s engagement ring on her finger. She might be able to afford a bit of charity for her fiancé’s son. On the other hand, I see another clash between Ginny and Draco in the near future.  
> Please Review!


	9. Chapter9

            Harry was busy all the next day with Auror training with Ron. That night when they got off they picked up Ginny and went to a pub in Ottery St. Catchpole for some butterbeers. Ron had suggested they go back to Grimmauld Place to drink, but after the way Draco reacted to Harry coming home drunk the night before, he didn’t want to risk it. He had something important to do tonight.

            It wasn’t until several drinks in that Harry worked up the courage to tackle the task at hand. “Ron, would you mind going home early, so that I can talk to Ginny alone?” Harry asked when Ginny got up to use the loo.

            “What do-” Ron started to say, but cut himself off mid-sentence. “Ah, fiancé shite! I got it. I’ll bugger off right away.”

            “Thanks Ron; you’re the best mate a bloke could have,” Harry replied, clapping Ron on the shoulder.

            Ron chugged the last two inches of his beer, turned on the spot, and with a wink, apparated away.

            When Ginny returned from the loo, she sat down next to Harry and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek, before looking around for her brother. “Where’s Ron?”

            “Went home. I asked him to; we need to talk,” Harry answered. Somehow those last four words had sounded alright when used between him and Draco, but felt like ice water over the head when they tumbled out of his mouth now.

            Ginny blanched white, then shook it off, and asked, “What about? The wedding?”

            “No, not the wedding. We’ll need to talk about that too at some point, you know, plan it and everything,” Harry answered and Ginny calmed down now that she knew the marriage was still on. “It’s about Leo.” At the mention of his son, her expression turned sour, but at the name that was to come next, she scowled. “Malfoy and I talked-”

            “ _Malfoy_ and you _talked_?” Ginny asked angrily, letting her fury show.

            “Yes, we talked.”

            “Is that where you got the idea for this little chat? Because it doesn’t sound at all like you Harry.” Ginny’s tone was biting and accusatory.

            “Yes, it is. I thought it was a good idea.”

            Ginny just made a scoffing sound and looked away, like Harry wasn’t even worth looking at right now.

            “Leo. We talked about Leo and what we want for him,” Harry continued. It was now or never and he wasn’t a Gryffindor for nothing. “Neither of us want him growing up feeling unloved or unwanted. Malfoy doesn’t like the way you treat Leo. You’re always yelling or screaming when he’s there-”

            Ginny cut Harry off again. “Because _he’s_ there too!”

            “It doesn’t matter. Malfoy is there because Leo’s there and Leo is where Malfoy goes. I know he’s a tosser, but he’s not all bad.”

            “Next you’ll be telling me he’s grown on you and you’re best friends. What are you going to start calling him Draco next or something?” Ginny’s tone was petulant.

            “That’s not a bad idea; it’s probably would be best for Leo,” Harry answered, considering the idea. It seemed weird, but it was also weird to forever call the father of his child by a last name. “And he has grown on me. I think that maybe his abrasive tone is habit left over from school, because when we talk, he’s not much like that. Leo is the only thing he cares about. If you could hear him go on about Leo and see what I see, I think you’d give him a chance too.”

            “Not bloody likely.”

            “Please Ginny, I want you both to be part of my life; you and Leo. And until Leo’s old enough to be separated, that means dealing with having Malfoy along. Just give it a chance, for me?” Harry pleaded.

            Silence filled the air, thick and heavy, as Ginny thought. Then she gave a curt nod and smiled and Harry jumped up to hug her. The hug was a little overzealous considering the amount they had to drink and they lost their balance, toppling over onto the floor. Instead of getting up, they shared a frantic kiss under the table. They were horny and panting, her pupils blown wide from lust and his heart pounding in his chest.

            What stopped them was the fact that Harry noticed their audience out of the corner of his eye; every one of the half dozen bar patrons was staring and the bar was unusually quiet. That was worse than Draco’s ice water to the bits hex and Harry quickly pulled away, ending the kiss. He stood up hastily, brushing himself off and straightening his robes, before leaning down and holding out a hand to Ginny, to help her up. “Here, let’s relocate to somewhere a bit more private.”

            They were soon walking through the forest between the bar and the Burrow. They stopped when they came across a small outcropping of moss covered rocks. The moment they stopped, Ginny jumped on Harry, kissing him hard, but he pushed her away and insisted that they set up a few wards before they do anything. He even transfigured a large rock into a small bed; it was a rather hard bed, but significantly softer than a moss covered rock.

            Ginny was pleased with the makeshift bed, if her enthusiastic lust was anything to go by. She pushed Harry down onto the bed, snogged him until he was breathless, and initiated a little something more. Not sex, due to her parents’ rules, but touching and oral.

 

* * *

 

            Harry, Ron, and Ginny went to the pub every night that week after Auror training and had a good time, just the three of them. It had the added benefit of not having to see Draco much, but Harry did find himself missing Leo, which was why he decided to spend the weekend at home. And now that he was engaged and they had talked about Leo, he invited Ginny over.

            Ginny could make the floo trip herself, but Harry was nervous about having her and Draco under the same roof again, so he decided to escort her over. They apparated onto the porch, Harry taking her by side-along, since she wasn’t yet seventeen. He led her upstairs, arm in arm, to announce their return to Draco and Leo, who were in the drawing room. The baby was sitting on the floor in the middle of a bunch of toys, Draco in front of him, holding the new owl just out of reach. Leo was reaching out, trying to grab the bird and Draco was remembering what Harry had said about not giving their son live animals to play with.

            “We’re back,” Harry announced.

            “Awhooo,” Leo said, reaching for the owl, oblivious to the new arrivals. Harry apparently was no competition for an owl.

            “He’s saying owl, I think,” Draco said, glancing up for a second and then back to Leo. He stroked the bird with one hand, while firmly keeping it in place with the other.

            “He is not. He’s saying Aa-woo. Sounds like he’s crying at you to me,” Ginny said.

            “Who asked you, Weasley?” Draco asked snidely, glaring at Ginny. After a moment of silence, broken only by Leo’s babbling, he raised the owl into the air and encouraged it to fly away. It did and he used his free hands to snatch Leo up. He rose and headed towards the stairs, aiming to seclude himself in the nursery until she was gone.

            “Wait, where are you going? I want you to stay and try to get on,” Harry protested, calling up the stairwell and catching Draco mid-flight.

            “And what do you expect us to talk about? Our Hogwarts letters? As much as I’d love to be Head Boy and lord it over your girlfriend, PaPa, I don’t think I’ll take Slughorn and McGonagall up on their offer to babysit,” Draco replied, Leo on his hip. The baby was drooling on his robes, the little fists wrinkling the fabric. He purposefully failed to acknowledge the engagement, which in his view, shouldn’t’ve ever happened in the first place.

            “What are you talking about Malfoy? Like anyone would ever make _you_ Head Boy,” Ginny replied, appearing at Harry’s side and not so subtly wrapping an arm around her prize.

            “Oh, did you not know? My offer of Head Boy came with an extension. It seems Headmaster Snape wished to be accommodating. It was rather obvious I was in no condition to fulfill the role last year,” Draco said.

            “You weren’t Head Boy last year; Theo Nott was,” Ginny said.

            “What are you talking about? You aren’t seriously considering going back to school this year, are you? What about Leo?” Harry asked incredulously.

            “I just said I wasn’t,” Draco said with a sneer, which Leo copied, babbling angrily now in imitation. “And Theo was only offered the badge after I turned it down.”

            “Yeah right,” Ginny said.

            “But if I was, all of the professors except for that barmy Trelawney volunteered to babysit. They sent me an apology for besmirching my good name after Dumbledore’s death and saying that I was welcome back. Slughorn’s letter was particularly groveling.”

            “So you’ve gotten your Hogwarts letter then?” Harry asked, seizing on anything that he could make sense of.

            Hermione had written about receiving her Hogwarts letter last week. The owl had apparently flown clear around the world to deliver it to her in Australia. She was of course keen to go back and eager to receive the letter. The eighth year letters had been sent out early, because special arrangements were being made to house the extra students and the school needed to know how many extra students to expect. Neither Harry nor Ron had gotten one, but they didn’t expect to, since they’d join the Auror program. They’d seen McGonagall during one or another of the Ministry galas, so she knew their intentions.

            “Yes, along with two apologies; one from Slughorn, the other from McGonagall, but signed by all of the other professors. They all offered to watch Leo for me while I take classes. Slughorn seems to think that there is no problem with keeping a baby at the front of a potions class while first years explode their cauldrons all over the place,” Draco answered.

            “No frigging way,” Harry replied in disbelief.

            “Watch your language, PaPa. There are sensitive ears listening.” As Draco said this, he covered one of Leo’s ears temporally for effect. Leo whined at that and batted his father’s hand away, still holding on with his other.

            “Sorry.” Harry shrugged apologetically. “But you’re not going back, are you? You can’t go back; it’s no place for a baby.”

            “Don’t worry, I’m not going. I let Leo have the Head Boy badge to gnaw on. I think he might be teething.” To demonstrate his point, Draco pushed a crooked index finger into Leo’s mouth, letting the baby gum it.

            “Prove it. There’s no way they offered you the Head Boy badge,” Ginny challenged.

            With that Draco pulled out his wand, gave it a swish, and said, “Accio Hogwarts letter! Accio Head Boy badge!”

            A folded set of parchment sheets and a Head Boy badge came flying down from the third floor. Draco reached out a hand to grab both and then went down a few steps, holding the items out to Harry. Harry reached out, climbing up two stairs in the process, and took them. Ginny stayed put at the bottom of the stairs and crossed her arms as she scowled.

            “It’s a real Head Boy badge,” Harry confirmed, looking it over before opening up the folded parchment to read. The first page was a Hogwarts letter, informing Draco that he was welcome back to finish his seventh year and take his NEWTs. The second was the typical supply letter. The third was indeed from Slughorn. Harry read just enough of that third one to groan in disgust at the potion professor’s blatant desire to court Draco. Slughorn had done his best to ignore Draco sixth year, but now that Draco had Harry’s baby, Draco was welcome in the Slug Club.

            The final parchment was from McGonagall and was as Draco had said, an apology for implicating Draco in Dumbledore’s death, given that they now knew the entire thing had been planned by the late Headmaster. It included an offer to babysit and all of the other Hogwarts professors signed below McGonagall’s signature. The lone dissention was Trelawney, who wrote, “I would offer to babysit Leo—I’m sure he is a charming baby—but I sense great danger and misfortune if I were to do so. I therefore regretfully decline to participate in the babysitting pool the Headmistress has proposed.”

            “I was sent a Head Boy badge last year too, but I left that behind at the Manor; it wasn’t likely I would need it,” Draco said airily, smirking at the fact that he’d one-upped Ginny. He knew Ginny hadn’t been offered the Head Girl position or even the role of Prefect. She would be Quidditch captain only, and she didn’t know that for certain, since her own letter hadn’t arrived.

            Harry turned back to the first page and read the bit at the bottom stating that Draco’s Head Boy honor would be extended to him again this year, if he chose to return. It also said that the role would be held for him indefinitely, whenever he did decide to come back. It sounded like Draco would be offered the badge again next year, if he didn’t accept this year.

            “This is Snape’s doing. It has to be; there’s no other reason for _Malfoy_ to be made Head Boy. Voldemort probably put Snape up to it; Malfoy was his prized Death Eater,” Ginny said, grabbing the badge from Harry.

            Draco didn’t deny the accusation, instead brushing it off with a shrug. “My father said he is going to bring litigation against Trelawney for what she said about Leo. Can you believe she’s predicting harm to a baby?”

            Harry shrugged. “She always predicted my death when Ron and I took her class.” Apparently the dire predictions had now been transferred to his son.

            “Well yes, _you_ would meet an unfortunate end, but not _Leo_. Such things cannot possibly happen to _my baby_. Just you keep your doomsday prophecies to yourself. My father wrote Trelawney quite the complaint about that,” Draco said.

            Harry rolled his eyes at the mention of Lucius, as if the wizard still had some pull somewhere. It wasn’t like when they were younger, when Lucius held a position on the Hogwarts board of governors. “Right,” he said, not having anything else to say.

            “You can keep that if you want; I’ve no plans to return to the castle this year.” And with that, Draco disappeared with Leo up the stairs.

            Harry and Ginny went back into the drawing room. Harry cleaned up the blanket and pile of toys that had been left on the floor. The pair tried to forget about the conversation with Draco and discuss other things. They spent a long while discussing Quidditch, which was one of the few things they had in common.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept wanting to add more into this chapter and let Draco and Ginny keep taking shots at each other. But it was getting long, so I decided to save some for next chapter.  
> Please Review!


	10. Chapter10

          It wasn’t until several hours later that Harry left Ginny alone for more than a minute. He’d gotten an owl from Dromeda and had taken off to his room on the top floor to find a quill, leaving her in the drawing room on the second floor.

            Draco was keeping an eye out for just such an occurrence and quickly popped downstairs, leaving Leo behind asleep in the crib. He took a seat in the armchair across from Ginny and said, “Just because he asked you to marry him, don’t be fooled; he’s still sleeping with me.”

            “No he’s not, Malfoy. He told me the truth,” Ginny replied angrily, but trying to keep her voice down, knowing that Leo was in the other room and that Harry would be mad.

            “He is so. But, if you are too blind to see it, go ahead and keep telling yourself that you are the only one.”

            “And how was it that you got that blasted fertility spell to work, when we all know it shouldn’t’ve?”

            “We _did_ have a secret sexual relationship, you bint. I have been trying to tell you that.”

            “No you didn’t. And even if you did, why would you want to have Harry’s kid? His mother was muggleborn, which makes him a halfblood. You’ve just contaminated your bloodline,” Ginny retorted.

            “I look at it this way: it was my destiny to have Leo,” Draco revealed, telling the truth for once. And then he jumped up and left, disappearing as quickly as he’d come.

            Ginny was going to tell Harry what Draco said just as soon as Harry came back down, but she didn’t get the chance. Harry came running down the stairs looking alarmed and headed straight to the second floor loo.

            “Harry!” Ginny called, running after him.

            The door to the loo was open when they got there, the toilet mid-flush, and Draco was on his knees in front of it. He hawked a spit into the bowl, before looking up. “I’ve been feeling ill all morning, Harry. Could you get me some water?” He offered no explanation for what he was doing on the second floor, when Harry had last seen him going up to the third, and none was asked for.

            Harry conjured a glass, which he filled with water and handed over.

            Draco drank the water, before asking. “Will you keep an eye on Leo for me?”

            “Yeah, sure. What’s wrong? Do you need to see a healer?” Harry asked concerned.

            “I threw up,” Draco said shrugging. “I think I just want to lie down for now.”

            “Of course,” Harry said, reaching out a hand to help Draco up.

            Harry led Draco back up the stairs to his bedroom, bumping Ginny out of the way in the process. After Draco’s earlier comment, that only upset her more, so she stalked her way to the landing, waiting for Harry.

            Harry came down a minute later and asked Ginny, “Why didn’t you help him when he called?” He wasn’t mad that she’d ignored Draco’s calls for help, because he knew Draco was an arse to her, but he didn’t think it was right either.

            “What are you talking about?” Ginny asked.

            “He called for help. I heard him from my room while I was digging through my trunk. If I could hear him from all the way up there, then surely you must’ve heard him.”

            “No, I didn’t. But it doesn’t matter, because he wasn’t even sick. He’s just making it up to get attention.”

            “Look, I know you don’t like him, but the least you could’ve done was see what was wrong and gotten him the water.”

            “He wasn’t sick! He was in here a minute ago making up shite again!”

            “How could he ’ve, if he was in the loo throwing up?”  
            “That’s what I’m saying: he wasn’t,” Ginny persisted.

            “Could you two keep it down; I’m trying to rest,” Draco’s weak voice interrupted from the stairway. He was bending over the railing on the landing above, looking ill. Then he made a gulping sound and dashed off towards the loo again, the one on the third floor this time. He shut and locked the door behind him.

            Harry ran up the stairs in an effort to get to Draco and Ginny followed after.

            “Draco! Are you alright?” Harry called through the door, hearing the sounds of retching behind it.

            “He’s just faking, Harry!” Ginny insisted.

            “Look, you’d better go. I need to take care of this and watch Leo,” Harry said dismissing Ginny with the wave of a hand, not even turning to look at her as he concentrated on the door.

            “But Harry-”

            Harry cut Ginny off, saying only, “Just go. I’ll fire-call you later.”

            Ginny was pissed that she hadn’t been able to get a word in edgewise, so she turned and left, going home.

            Leo started crying then and Draco was still holed up in the loo, so Harry turned to get the baby. Harry sat and rocked Leo, the new curtains in the nursery catching his eye. They shifted to a different scene with every time of the day. At night they were dark blue and filled with stars. After dinner they were covered in bubbles and bath tiles. Now they showed a bottle, a baby spoon, and a bowl of a mashed green substance. Apparently Leo was hungry and the curtains knew it. Nothing Harry did calmed Leo for long, so he was relieved when Draco finally emerged, smelling of toothpaste.

            Draco took Harry’s place with the child in the rocking chair. “Shoo now,” Draco said, positioning Leo on the u-shaped pillow.

            Harry got the hint and left, although he kept an eye on the two all day, forgetting about Ginny and the promise he’d made to fire-call her.

 

* * *

 

 

            Ginny invited herself over Sunday to tell Harry off. She had a temper and let him have it for not calling her and for falling for Draco’s bullshite. He realized then that he’d forgotten to call and since he was cowed over that, he didn’t press the point that Draco really was sick. She, however, had less success in telling Draco off.

            As soon as Ginny started on him, Draco burped and put a hand to his mouth. “Excuse me,” he mumbled into his fingers.

            “Don’t pull that again. I know you’re not really sick. I know you’re faking,” Ginny accused.

            Draco responded to that by dropping to his knees and puking over Ginny’s shoes, having swallowed a puking pastille right before she and Harry entered the nursery. This time there was no way he was lying about the vomit, because it was right there for all to see.

            “Come on,” Harry said, pulling Draco up by the shoulders and practically dragging him to the loo as he continued to heave.

            The next round of vomit was delivered straight into the toilet. Harry stood back, waiting to see if there was anything more he could do. Draco eventually asked for a glass of water. Then he sent Harry off to clean up the mess and check on Leo, who had been left alone in the playpen. As soon as he was in the clear, he ate the antidote half of the sweet and strode downstairs to join Ginny in the drawing room. It was just the two of them, because Harry was still in the nursery with Leo.

            “It’s morning sickness,” Draco lied, sitting down in his favorite armchair.

            “What is?” Ginny asked in reply.

            “Why I’ve been throwing up. I’m pregnant again; I told you we’ve still been having sex. I reckon it was that first night I came here that’s done it this time. He said he won’t break it off with you, because he’s scared of what the papers will print when they find out he’s gay. Imagine that; the great Harry Potter is afraid of the press.”

            With that, Ginny started thinking twice about her previous assumption. Now that she’d had to spell actual vomit off of her shoes—strictly speaking she wasn’t supposed to be doing magic, but with two fully-fledged wizards in the house, the Ministry would never know—she was no longer entirely convinced that Draco was faking. And if he wasn’t faking that, then she couldn’t be sure if he was lying about having sex with Harry too. It had been a year now since she’d had sex with Harry and it was hard for her to believe that Harry would just wait for her all that time.

            “Whatever,” Ginny huffed, and decided to leave. Either Harry was cheating on her or he was a moron for falling for Draco’s crap; she was so mad that she wasn’t going to stick around to find out which.

            As Ginny rose up and reached for the pot of floo powder on the mantel, Draco said, “This next baby will have to be the Malfoy heir, or course, because Leo is already the sole Potter heir. It’s a good job Harry has his inheritance, or we wouldn’t be able to have two children; Malfoys don’t produce more than one child for each inheritance.”

            That stopped Ginny in her tracks. She turned around quickly, her hair fanning out with the movement, and said, “Leo won’t be Harry’s only heir for long. We’re getting married, remember?”

            “Doesn’t matter. Harry already signed the writ of paternity which clearly states that Leo Draco Malfoy is his one and only heir, to receive no less than three quarters of the contents of his vaults at the time of signing and all property, including this house. Any wives or additional children may not dilute his inheritance down to nothing; knowing you Weasleys, you would have ten children and then there would be nothing left for Leo, so I had my lawyer write that part in. This house cannot be sold or transferred to anyone other than Leo and Leo’s share of the vaults cannot be spent, since they are going into a trust fund specifically for him. Harry is welcome to leave the remaining quarter of his vaults to whoever he wants, but as of right now, Leo is the sole heir, so those moneys would also go to him.”

            “So when I marry him, your brat still gets more, even if I have his kid?” Ginny asked incredulously.

            “Yes. It’s only fair, don’t you think? Since he refuses to marry me and expects to string me along on the side,” Draco replied.

            “Harry!” Ginny cried, angrily.

            Harry came rushing down the stairs a few moments later. “Shush; Leo just went down for his nap,” he admonished as he entered the drawing room. He’d had to sing for half an hour to get the baby down, since he didn’t believe Draco that there was no trick to it. He assumed that it wasn’t working because he didn’t know the words to the German song Draco sang, so he’d tried a dozen English songs. Finally, as always happens, Leo had been so exhausted he’d just lay down and closed his eyes. That was a lot of work, so why was it that Ginny insisted on yelling when there was a baby in the house?

            “Never mind that. Draco just told me that you signed paperwork making Leo your sole heir,” Ginny accused.

            From the expression on Ginny’s face, Harry could tell she was mad about this and that he was likely walking into a trap of some kind. Not wanting to wake the baby, he cast a silencing bubble around them, so that no matter how loud she got, Leo wouldn’t hear. But even then he knew Draco would still complain about her yelling the moment she left, so he said, “If we are going to talk about this, you need to calm down and not yell. I cast a silencing charm, but we need to get used to not yelling in this house.”

            “ _I_ need to calm down?” Ginny whispered incredulously. Well it was a whisper for her, but it still came out with plenty of volume.

            “Er, yes? Now what is the problem?”

            “Malfoy here just informed me that the writ of paternity you signed named Leo your sole heir. Is that true?”

            “Yeah, well I wanted him to be my heir. What’s the harm in that? He’s my son.”

            “Not just your heir, Harry, your _sole_ heir, meaning your only heir. When we marry and have children, we won’t get as much as Leo. We can’t even use Leo’s share of the inheritance while you’re alive!”

            “Is that true, Malfoy? Is that what those papers said?” Harry asked, turning to Draco.

            Draco shrugged and said, “Yes, to a point. Only seventy-five percent of your current wealth and this property, since I was only aware of this one, are being held in trust for Leo. You are free to use the remaining twenty-five percent and any money you earn in your lifetime however you want.”

            “I get twenty-five percent and anything I make on my own?” Harry asked and Draco nodded. Harry shrugged. “I can live with that. I have plenty of money in my vaults and I’m already working. I wasn’t planning on dipping into the inheritance from my parents anyway. I want to work for a living.”

            “Seriously? You find out that he’s tricked you out of your house and your inheritance and you don’t care? Any child we have will be like second-rate with only a fraction of the inheritance Leo gets,” Ginny replied.

            “No, that’s only of the money that Sirius and my parents left me. The money I make I will be free to decide how to split. Our child could end up with far more than what has been promised to Leo,” Harry reasoned. After living off of his inheritance for the last seven years, it was greatly depleted anyway. It was still a lot of money for him, but he figured Draco would think it was barely anything, which was how he explained it away to himself.

            “I don’t care. It’s the principle of the thing. Why don’t you crawl back under whatever rock you crawled out of, Malfoy?” Ginny asked, anger still evident in her tone.

            “Fine, I will. Tomorrow I’ll go down to the Ministry and arrange a portkey for me and Leo. We will go back to that horrible little cottage big enough for two that my father calls a safe house. You and Harry will never have to see us again, is that what you want?” Draco asked, bluffing.

            “No, it’s not!” Harry exclaimed, jumping in. He was just getting to know his son; it was too soon to loose Leo. “I want you to stay.”

            “Hear that Weasley?” Draco asked, a smug smirk on his face. He was tempted to ask Harry to make her leave, but he held out, because he wanted Harry to make the decision to kick Ginny out.

            Ginny practically growled in frustration. “Are you seriously choosing him over me?” she asked, glaring at Harry.

            “No, I want you both to get along,” Harry replied.

            “Fine, I’m leaving,” Ginny announced, making the decision Harry didn’t want to. And with that, she flooed back to the Burrow.

            Harry sighed in disappointment over Ginny, but he was also concerned about Draco. Despite the fact that Draco had tricked him into signing away Leo a larger chunk of the pie, he wasn’t particularly angry about it. It was just Draco making sure Leo was taken care of.

            “Is there a reason Leo needs my inheritance that badly?” Harry asked and waited for a response. When he didn’t get one, he continued, “He has his inheritance from you, doesn’t he?”

            “Not exactly,” Draco finally answered evasively. Harry raised his eyebrow, urging Draco to continue. “My father’s still in charge of the Malfoy inheritance. He refuses to name an heir after me until I get my life sorted. Leo won’t be left with nothing, but he may not be in line for the title of Lord Malfoy and everything that comes with it. My father seems to think that in a few years, I’ll settle down and marry a nice pureblood who will give additional heirs to choose from. And he’s concerned that this first heir might be too Gryffindorish and other such nonsense.”

            “Your father has no right to do that! Leo is your firstborn son!”

            “Out of wedlock. I’m afraid that as long as he’s alive, my father has every right. But, should he die before me, then I will be able to undo whatever havoc he wrecks. Unfortunately, that could take years and years. Leo might be a grown man ready to start a family of his own before I can fix it.”

            Harry could tell from the sad way Draco was speaking of it, that this issue really bothered him. For someone like Draco, who knew his place in the great succession of life since the day he was born, the idea that his son might not have a place was mindboggling. His overzealousness in insuring Leo’s place with Harry as the Potter heir was just his way of coping with the uncertainty his father had heaped on him by refusing to name Leo as the Malfoy heir. It must cause Draco a great deal of stress and that wasn’t the only reason that had Harry worried about him.

            “This is the second day in a row you’ve been sick. Don’t you think it’s time to go get checked out?” Harry asked.

            “No, I don’t feel up to waiting in that mess; I’m not ill enough to warrant it. Do you have any idea how packed St. Mungo’s was? The Prophet writes about the shortage of beds in every other addition. Leo and I would’ve been turned out on our arses if he didn’t have the taint of Savior on him.”

            “But if you’re really ill, Malfoy, then you need to go.”

            “I think it’s just your house elf’s cooking.”

            Harry did have to concede that Kreacher was not the most competent of elves. After he’d returned from vanishing suddenly during the war, the elf was less than pleased with him. Kreacher showed his displeasure in his cooking, although the elf never seem mad at Draco, always rushing to serve the noble Master Malfoy. “What about your house elf? Mipsy? I never see her around. She could cook.”

            “Dipsy, and no, she’s not a cooking elf. She’s a night elf and sleeps during the day.”

            “Well then I’ll just cook myself,” Harry offered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That blew up nicely. Do you think we can call the Draco and Ginny getting along experiment over? Once Draco’s manage to claim the house for himself and keep her away, it might just be time for him to make a move of his own on Harry. What do you think he should try?  
> Please Review!


	11. Chapter11

            First thing Monday morning during Auror training, Harry was called into Head Auror Robards’ office. There was a witch already in the room wearing the indigo colored robes of an Unspeakable. Her auburn hair was swept up in a messy bun, with a pair of spectacles perched on top. Her appearance bore striking similarities to how Hermione looked after spending the night with her nose in a book.

            “Ah Harry, this is Unspeakable Dunaway. She has been charged with looking into how Draco Malfoy was able to get around the relationship requirement of the fertility spell,” Robards said.

            Dunaway offered her hand, which Harry shook, saying, “It’s nice to meet you.”

            The Unspeakable didn’t return Harry’s greeting, other than to offer a curt nod. Instead she addressed Robards’ comment, saying, “Malfoy did not get around the relationship requirement. There is no mystery here; the spell has worked perfectly.”

            “Honestly, we were not romantically involved in any way,” Harry assured the witch. “But, um, this healer told me that other strong emotions can, er, sort of take the place of love.”

            “Yes, the spell measures the sum total of all emotions in a relationship throughout the lifetime of a relationship,” Dunaway replied. “That is the exact mechanism of determining whether the spell works or fails, but most authors of fertility books find that explanation too complicated for the lay-wizard to understand, hence the simplification. The spell can fail when a relationship is destined to end in the near future, despite strong passionate love at the moment the spell is cast. And it can work for couples with mildly positive relationships, if the relationship lasts a lifetime. According to the file I was given, Auror Potter and the wizard in question have known each other since starting school. I suspect that your mutual obsessions will keep the two of you in each other’s lives until your eventual deaths. You will in all likelihood be friends for the majority of that time. Therefore the integral of your emotions over time surpasses the threshold of emotions required by the spell. Everything is in order here and nothing needs investigating.”

            “Then why has it taken so long for you to get back to me?” Robards asked sternly.

            “Because we Unspeakables have other things to do than cater to you. There were more important cases in front of this one,” Dunaway answered.

            “This is Harry Potter we’re talking about here; he’s the Savior—” Robards started, but Harry cut him off.

            “Of the Wizarding World, yes, we know.” Harry waved his hand dismissively. “What I want to know is how our _future_ friendship can affect a spell performed over a year ago?”

            “Time is nothing more and nothing less than the fourth direction in the space-time continuum. Like all of the other dimensions, it is possible to move both forward and backwards through it. That is the principle behind the Time Turner. Some spells work given information from the present point in time, some from the past, some from the future, and this one, from the integration of all three,” Dunaway replied.

            Harry’s head spun when he tried to think about it. This was obviously such complex magical theory that he had trouble understanding it. But if the expert on the subject didn’t think there was a mystery, then that was good enough for him. He left the room that day knowing two new things. First of all, he _never_ wanted to be an Unspeakable. And second, no one else could have done what Draco did. The odds of someone else who he was not in a sexual relationship with being able to meet the emotional threshold was slim. The only people he needed to worry about were those he would have lifetime friendships with, which basically amounted to Ron and Hermione. And he knew he didn’t need to worry about his best friends, so there was nothing to worry about. Other than Draco, that was.

            Harry rejoined the other Auror trainees and let the physical exercises drive the headache inducing memory of Dunaway’s words from his mind. Later, during their afternoon break, he found out from Ron about the misconceptions Ginny left with the previous day. He didn’t really understand the leap Ginny had made from Draco throwing up to Draco being pregnant and having sex with him, and figured it was just Ginny’s overactive imagination. But the thought that Draco might be pregnant did trigger a different thought in Harry’s mind: Draco could use the fertility spell again to get pregnant by Harry anytime Draco wanted, without permission.

            That night Harry stumbled out of the floo determined to talk to Draco. He was tipsy from a night of drinking at the pub with Ron and the alcohol gave him courage. Leo was already asleep, a string of Zs displayed on the starry curtains, so it was a perfect time for a chat.

            Harry found Draco reading in bed and said, “We need to talk.”

            Draco motioned Harry into the room and indicated a chair in the corner, “By all means. What did you want to discuss? I know a charming little clinic that promises to do wonders with alcohol addiction.”

            Harry took the seat. “No, not about that. About Leo. Or, er, about the spell you used to make him.”

            “What about it?” Draco placed a bookmark to save his place and set the book down at his side.

            “Are you going to do it again?”

            “Do what again?” Draco asked confused.

            “Make a baby. You know, do the fertility spell with one of my hairs.”

            “What are you on about now, Potter?”

            “If it worked once, it might work again. We might have _two_ babies.”

            “Do you want that or something? What, Weasley cannot have children, so you turn to me? I’ll have you know that you cannot use me like that. I won’t bend to your every drunken whim.”

            “No, I’m not asking you to! I thought you might do it again without my permission. You did it once. What’s to stop you from doing it again?” Harry asked.

            “A, I already have Leo. B, I already have all of the work and hassle of being a single father and a pariah to the wizarding world. C, I don’t need that doubled. D, next time I have a child I’d like to have one with someone who wants me around. E, I only made Leo because I had to. And F, you took care of the Dark Lord, so there is no reason I will ever find myself in the same situation again.”

            “Good.”

            “Now if you’d please leave and not come back until you are sober and no longer talking nonsense,” Draco said, making a shooing motion towards the door, indicating that Harry should get out.

            Harry rose, turned halfway towards the door, before changing his mind. He jerked his head back in a not entirely sober manner, and sat back down; that last beer was still absorbing into his system. “Wait a minute. You didn’t share. We’re supposed to talk. You always make me tell you how I’m feeling when you want to talk. I just told you what was bothering me. What do you think of it?”

            “While I think my son is absolutely perfect in every way, I think his PaPa has a drinking problem that I do _not_ like,” Draco replied tersely.

            “Come now, I didn’t have all that much to drink; only a few butterbeers.” It had been exactly six beers, but that was over the course of the last three hours and it was a very weak drink. It loosened his tongue and lowered his inhibitions, but he wasn’t out of control or falling down. There were moments that were more lucid, but then the slight buzz would return and his tongue slipped again.

            “I don’t want you holding Leo when you’re like this. You might drop him.” Truthfully it wasn’t so much the alcohol that Draco had a problem with, as it was that he knew it was Ginny Weasley who Harry was drinking with. He’d already warned Harry once and so far Harry had shown no move towards their son while intoxicated. He thought he could trust Harry’s judgment enough not to do so; Leo was safe, which was what mattered most. But, the Weasley bint was a lush and if he could get Harry to sober up, he knew Harry would find her far less tolerable. It was never fun to be the sober one looking in and he hoped he could brow beat Harry into seeing Ginny like that.

            “Alright, I won’t touch Leo when I drink, if you tell me.” Now Harry knew Draco was avoiding the question and he wanted to know why. “How do _you_ feel?” He was just tipsy enough that as he spoke, he found himself fixating on Draco’s lips. It was an odd thing to focus on and he didn’t know why he was doing it. Maybe the sneer that Leo’s mouth liked to copy had become endearing. Or maybe it was that he was feeling a bit randy, after Ginny had refused to go out with them and consequently, hadn’t gotten him off.

            “You know my son is perfect, right? He’s very smart and advanced for his age and he has the biggest, most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.” As Draco said this, he looked into Harry’s matching green eyes.

            “Yes, I know. He even knew that the new owl’s name is Awhoo, not Kevin. You’ve been calling that owl Kevin all week.” Harry was rambling, due to the alcohol, and hadn’t understood Draco’s implications.

            Just that morning the owl had chosen Leo to drop his letter off with, even though it was for Draco. Draco had been trying to reach the owl as it flew around the ceiling, calling, “Kevin! Kevin, get down here.” Leo had called out, “Awwhoooo,” a couple of times and opened and closed his hands in command to come. The bird had obeyed the baby. Harry decided after that that they should change the bird’s name. Draco, having just gotten ahold of the letter from his father, had been too busy reading to care and hadn’t opposed the decision, even though it was technically Draco’s bird.

            “Whatever PaPa, but if we’re ever in public, it’s going to be you calling out that ridiculous name.”

            “Alright,” Harry replied. He paused a minute, trying to remember what they were talking about, before he recalled his earlier train of thought. “You’re not mad though, are you?”

            “That you changed Kevin’s name, even though he’s my owl? No. Truthfully I was thinking Kevin sounds a bit muggle. Can’t have muggle sounding owls, can we? And with you being _The Savior_ , you have every right to go around renaming other people’s owls.”

            “No, not about the owl. About Leo; are you mad Voldemort forced you? That you’re stuck with my son?”

            “ _I am not stuck with your son, you imbecile_! That is _my_ son you’re talking about!” Draco was angry now and his smirk turned into a scowl. He was back to thinking Harry was an annoyingly stupid drunk.

            That response sounded positive; if Draco was claiming Leo so fiercely, he wasn’t likely resentful of the situation and Harry couldn’t see Draco taking anything out on the baby. Draco genuinely seemed to love Leo. Thus Harry smiled and reached a hand out to take Draco’s. “I’m glad,” he said.

            Draco blinked, taken aback. It flickered through his mind that Harry was drunker than he thought, but then he decided that the advance wasn’t unwelcomed. Maybe Ginny wasn’t the only one who could take advantage of a drunken Harry. He smirked and said, “You really can’t hold your liquor, can you?”

            Harry shrugged and threaded his fingers in between Draco’s. The wizard’s skin was soft and hot and the touch was very pleasant.

            “I didn’t know you were such a touchy-feely drunk,” Draco said, but didn’t pull away, instead leaning into Harry. The next bit was whispered into Harry’s ear. “You know, Harry, you’re growing on me. You remind me of my son and we both know how gorgeous he is.”

            “Yeah,” Harry agreed, leaning into the touch. They were almost embracing and it felt nice and tingly. He didn’t make the connection from Leo’s looks to his own that Draco had implied. Due to his self-deprecating nature, he probably wouldn’t have made the connection if he were sober. In his mind, Leo was far better looking than himself, despite the similarities. He figured Draco’s genes had somehow made the features more attractive on Leo than they looked on him. He had no chance of making the connection in his present state.

            “Now off to bed with you, before you pass out in my room. I swear to Salazar I’ll take your photo and send it to the Daily Prophet if that happens,” Draco said, pulling back. He wasn’t yet comfortable enough around Harry to make his move. Add to that the fact that Harry was clearly tipsy, while he was stone cold sober, and it didn’t feel right.

            A thought of the scandal that that would create flashed through Harry’s mind and he pulled away. He left, earlier fears assuaged, but with a new worry about Skeeter fresh in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One reviewer raised the question of how Draco feels. I tried to answer that a bit with this chapter, but he doesn’t seem entirely ready to share. He obviously came back feeling differently about Harry than he did when they were at school, thanks to Leo. But right now I think it’s more on the side of possessiveness towards Harry and not wanting Ginny to have him, than actual love. I can’t see him being okay with a Weasley having what he thinks belongs to him and his son, even if it is the Savior of the Wizarding World. What do you think?  
> Please Review!


	12. Chapter12

            It took Harry all week to convince Ginny that Draco wasn’t pregnant, they weren’t having sex, and to spend time with him again. With all of the drama between Draco and Ginny, Harry subconsciously started separating them. He spent time with Ginny at the pub and over at the Burrow, keeping her away from Grimmauld Place and Draco. He didn’t even realize he was doing it. And he had other things to worry about, like Auror training and spending his weekends with Teddy and Leo, so he didn’t have time to notice that he was slowly spending less and less time with Ginny, only seeing her on weekday evenings after training and Friday and Saturday nights.

            It was a week later when Harry came home to find Draco in the drawing room, hysterically upset and crying. He’d gone out to the pub again with Ron, Ginny, and some of the other trainees from work and was already tipsy. “What’s wrong?” he asked, instinctively stepping forward to comfort Draco, but his arms falling short in trepidation. They weren’t familiar enough for that, were they?

            “It’s my father,” Draco answered, his voice breaking, before another bout of sobs wracked his chest.

            With alcohol on his brain, Harry turned to the drink now. He pulled a special bottle of mead down from a high shelf; the bottle was old and had probably belonged to Sirius, having been there since he could remember. He made Draco drink a shot with him, slightly too far gone to realize what a horrible idea that was. He tossed his own back easily, but Draco sputtered on his at first and then had to hold his breath to swallow it down, making a repulsed face. Draco wasn’t used to shots and actually followed it down with a bit of water to clear his palette of the taste, but the drink did seem to calm him down.

            Once Draco’s breathing was somewhat under control, Harry requested, “Now tell me what’s happened with your dad.”

            After Harry’s drunken speech in Draco’s bedroom, Draco thought it might be okay to have a drink with Harry and see where things led. He wasn’t thinking along the lines of getting Harry in bed, because he thought too highly of himself to be the other man. He was going to have Harry for himself and for Leo without Ginny and he wouldn’t consent to that sort of thing until there was a commitment and a ring on his finger. No, what he thought might happen was a bit more drunken conversation, because Harry’s tongue loosened and Harry opened up when drunk. And Harry might just admit that he fancied Draco; possibly even kiss him.

            Draco wasn’t thinking about that now though, being too worked up about his father. If truth be told Lucius had done this sort of thing before, leaving him and his mother to wonder what had happened. Sometimes it was Aurors picking Lucius up for questioning, but there had also been angry business partners and the like who had decided to go after Lucius for money or revenge. Draco didn’t know for certain which it was this time and with the post-war anti-Death Eater climate, he feared the worst.

            “My mother fire-called. She was so worried. She said that my father went out hours ago and never came back. She sent our house elves after him. He’d been seen at the corner shop, but someone from the local Ministry was bothering him. They asked him to go in for questioning and then when he refused, hauled him in by force.” At least that was what the elf said; elves were not the most reliable of witnesses and the Malfoy elf had had it secondhand from the shop owner’s elf.

            Draco stopped there to take another swig of the alcohol, which he gagged on before finally swallowing. Harry joined him, without the gagging. A few minutes later, Harry said, “Well if it’s the Austrian Ministry, I can ask Kingsley to have someone talk to them for me. I’m sure they’re already in contact; the Aurors probably just want more information.”

            Draco had exchanged at least a dozen owls with the British Aurors, listing Death Eaters and where they might be. Harry thought Draco was contributing enough that way and wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of Draco and Leo being dragged into the Ministry. But, there were frequent occasions when some of the other Aurors suggested it and the possibility of getting Draco to bring in his old man. Lucius would be as good as gold if he came in and talked.

            “But that’s just it!” Draco wailed piteously. “Mother contacted the Austrian Ministry! They don’t have him. They have no reports of his arrest and they issued no orders for him to be questioned. They don’t cooperate with the British Ministry; that’s why my father picked Austria in the first place. He’s been kidnapped, don’t you see?”

            “Righ’,” Harry slurred, passing over the border from tipsy to drunk. “I’m going to tell you what we’re going to do. I’m going to go down to the Ministry and get whoever is on the night shift to go over there right now.”

            “No, you can’t go.” Draco’s arm shot out to grab Harry’s wrist. He pulled the appendage closer and locked onto it with both hands. “You’re too drunk to go anywhere in your state. It’s not safe to floo or apparate while drunk. Don’t you know that?” Maybe Harry could get away with it while tipsy, but Harry was fully intoxicated and due to fall down any moment now. Draco wanted Harry to jump right in and solve the problem, but not at all costs. He didn’t want Leo to lose a parent due to foolish drunk flooing.

            Harry blinked, looking at Draco. It didn’t occur to him that this was oddly selfless behavior for Draco and that if Lucius was in serious trouble and Draco was so upset, it really shouldn’t matter how drunk Harry was. He did, however, concede that Draco was right and that he really was too drunk to go anywhere. “Alright. I’ll fire-call the Aurors while you make us the next round of drinks.”

            Draco agreed to that. He took the remainder of the mead to the kitchen, saying he was going to find some sort of mixer, so they wouldn’t have to keep drinking it straight. He thought he’d vomit if he had to drink any more of it straight. He’d have to feed Leo from a bottle tonight and throw away his breast milk after this, but at least he had a bit of extra breast milk stored. Leo wouldn’t go hungry.

            Hating the burning taste, Draco didn’t know how Harry enjoyed drinking. His father drank too, but never shared the hard stuff. He’d been offered wine and even champagne at the dinner table, but only half a glass, and never beer or hard liquor. But even the wine had dried up when he got pregnant, since it wasn’t good for babies. Last time he’d asked, his father had said he shouldn’t have gotten himself knocked up if he wanted a bit of wine and to go take care of the baby; Lucius was less enthusiastic about Leo’s existence than Draco would’ve liked, but at least his mother adored the child.

            Harry nodded a moment too late and then went to the fireplace. Being an Auror trainee, he knew the easiest and fastest means of getting patched straight through to the Aurors on night duty. He wasted no time in doing so and relaying what Draco had told him about Lucius. They informed him that they had nothing to do with it and hadn’t heard anything about it, but to rest assured, because they would get to the bottom of it by morning.

            Once the fire-call was complete, Harry ventured down to the kitchen, finding it easier to walk when he held onto the wall to maintain his balance. Draco was sitting at the old kitchen table, stirring two tall glasses of something.

            “It’s milk, honey, and mead; I didn’t know what else to use,” Draco explained, handing Harry a glass. He didn’t know how to mix drinks, so he had to make do and he thought the milk and honey might calm his roiling stomach.

            Harry took a sip and smiled at the deliciously sweet taste. It made his taste buds burst with flavor, which didn’t typically happen when he was already this drunk. He smiled wider and looked over the rim of his glass to see Draco drinking the other glass. While they finished their drinks, Harry relayed the news that the sober Aurors were on the case.

            Time and reality began to blur and skip after that. Inhibitions dangerously lowered, Draco kissed Harry first; a quick peck on the lips just to see how Harry would react. He only wanted to verify that Harry was as attracted to him as he thought Harry was. He didn’t know that the kiss would turn into drunken snogging and get out of hand. There was the feel of a hot body pressed against his and of the wood table under his backside. He only moved to halt what was happening when he felt the strange sensation of a cloth covered erection pressing into his own. “What are ya doin’?” Draco slurred, his tongue unnaturally heavy.

            Harry remembered feeling horny, the feel of lips against his, and the sight of his fingers sifting through blond hair. “Shush, relax. This is going to feel good,” Harry said, silencing Draco with a kiss. This was new territory for him as well and he probably would have stopped if he wasn’t so pissed.

            Draco too would’ve stopped it, if he’d recalled that Harry was engaged to Ginny. But he had an even lower alcohol tolerance than Harry, so most coherent thoughts had left his brain. He even forgot about Leo sleeping in the room upstairs and the drama with his father had completely slipped his mind. He thought only of his desire, that he finally had Harry’s attention, and that Harry wanted him too.

            It did feel good. Harry started a rhythm, rocking their still clothed bodies back and forth, which had Draco seeing stars and made his head go blank. From then on it was only about the feel of exquisite pleasure. Breathing hitched and hearts raced and they felt jolts of pleasure shoot up their spines. It was as if there had always been this urge inside that was now filled with ecstasy. The air was filled with breathy moans and the sound of cloth rubbing in rhythm against cloth.

            Harry had no memories of making it to his bed that night. He woke up slowly, taking in the feel of the mattress underneath him. He wondered why his head was throbbing and if those were Ginny’s arms wrapped around him. It wasn’t until he opened his eyes that he realized he was not in his room or lying on his bed. This was Hermione’s old room, now Draco’s. He was lying in Draco’s bed with Draco’s arms around him, their bodies pressed against one another under the new comforter Draco had purchased. And if it wasn’t obvious enough, his knickers were filled with dried cum. At least they were both still completely clothed.

            It took a long moment for Harry to get his fuzzy brain to process his surroundings and figure out what had happened. When it finally clicked, he jumped out of bed, forcing Draco’s limbs away from him, exclaiming in shocked horror, “What the fuck, Malfoy!?!”

            “Ssh, don’t wake the baby,” Draco mumbled, pulling the covers Harry had dislodged back to cover his body. His head already hurt, even in his sleep.

            “Malfoy! Wake up!” Harry hissed, voice lowered in accordance with Draco’s commandment.

            “Hmmm?” Draco asked, one eye winking open, before closing again.

            “I said _wake up_!” This time Harry punctuated his request with a punch to Draco’s arm.

            “Ow! What was that for?” Draco was awake now, sitting up and rubbing his sore arm, before cradling his aching head in his hands. He had _never_ had anywhere near that amount of alcohol before. His misery pushed all thoughts of his father, the original instigator of the drinking, temporally out of his mind.

            “What did we do last night?” Harry asked.

            “What does it look like we did?” Draco’s cheeks flushed at the memory. Despite wanting Harry for himself, he couldn’t believe he’d actually done something like that. He’d never done that before with anyone.

            “How? Why?” Harry asked. Draco hasn’t answered the first question, but Harry knew the answer already, so it didn’t matter.

            Draco felt like he should’ve been the one asking the questions. It was after all Harry who had started it. Well Draco had kissed first, but the rest had all been initiated by Harry. Then Draco’s stomach rolled and he was running to the toilette to empty his stomach contents. He felt horrible, but his cheeks flamed at the memory of last night. This turn of events meant that Harry was attracted to him too. He had a chance to actually snag Harry for himself. Now it wasn’t just about getting rid of that annoying Weasley girl and making room in Harry’s life for Leo, but making room for himself on Harry’s arm.

            Following Draco to the loo, Harry continued the argument, “I’m engaged to Ginny!” Harry’s voice was a hiss, as if that fact excluded the reality of what had happened last night. Normally he would be concerned for someone who seemed so clearly ill, but he wasn’t in the mood this morning. He was incredibly angry, at himself and at Draco, for what they had done together. Unconsciously, he decided to take it out on Draco.

            When the heaving stopped, Draco wiped his mouth on his arm and looked up at Harry incredulously. “You are? I thought you two broke up weeks ago.” He couldn’t believe he felt this awful and Harry was doing this. And he _had_ hoped that Ginny no longer coming around was a sign of a breakup looming.

            “No, we never broke up. How could this happen? How could I have, you know, with you? You’re a bloke.”

            “Very well spotted,” Draco drawled, moving to rummage through the bathroom cabinet for something to make him feel better and earning a scowl from Harry. There was nothing but cleaning supplies, so he sat back on his bum against the wall and called Kreacher, who he ordered to fetch a vial of hangover potion. Harry happened to have some in the house, so the elf did as told, and Draco chugged the liquid down. He felt better a minute later, his head suddenly clearing and his stomach calming down. That was when he noticed Harry was still standing in the doorway waiting for an explanation, the unbelievable prick that he was.

            Draco stood up, closed the distance between them, and glared down at Harry. “It’s all very simple, Harry. You are gay. You like cock. I really don’t know how you could have gone this long and not figured it out. Honestly, it’s been obvious for years,” Draco said harshly.

            It wasn’t in fact all that obvious, but Draco thought he’d seen Harry checking his arse out a few too many times sixth year. If only he hadn’t been so busy with that blasted cabinet and his orders, he might’ve had time to use Harry’s obsession to his advantage and play a hilarious prank or three. Back then he didn’t have Leo and never would’ve considered a relationship with the Boy Who Lived, because his father would’ve killed him for it. But now he did have Leo, so he had his excuse for doing what he was doing. Plus, it would help his family’s reputation after coming out of the war on the losing side.

            Harry didn’t try denying that he liked cock; he’d considered the possibility before when he’d found himself checking out a male muggle’s arse while on the run during the war. He did lie to himself and try to pretend that he hadn’t liked what he’d done with Draco more than sex with Ginny, but he couldn’t lie about having liked it at all. “But with you!?!” he asked incredulously.

            “Is that the only objection you have?”

            Harry nodded, but amended, “And that I was drunk.”

            “I am very beautiful; you told me so yourself over and over again.” Draco may have been the one who woke up the most hung over, but he still remembered the things Harry had said to him in the heat of the moment. Later, the rest of the night would come back to him too.

            “Shut up.” Harry began to blush. He’d had about twice as much to drink as Draco, since he’d already been tipsy from the bar when he came home. As a result, his memory of the night was blurry and sluggish at best.

            “You said I’m the most beautiful person you have ever seen, witch or wizard.”

            “Shut up!” Harry repeated and threw a pillow from the bed at Draco, who dodged it.

            “You said I am more beautiful than your Weasley.”

            Harry didn’t actually remember saying that, although he did concede that Draco had a very beautiful face. Draco’s face was all harsh angles of the type that could only be described as ethereal. Ginny’s face was square and strong, lending an air of handsomeness. They were opposites, but he was attracted to them both.

            “No, I didn’t,” Harry denied.

            “Go ahead, keep telling yourself that.”

            “I didn’t.” Eyes darting around the room, Harry added, “And this never happened.”

            “Don’t tell me you are still going to marry the Weasley girl now that you have admitted to yourself that you are gay.”

            “I’m not gay; I’m bi. And yes, I’m still going to marry her, so keep your mouth shut.”

            Harry thought for sure that Draco wouldn’t agree and that he’d somehow have to bribe Draco. What he didn’t see coming was Draco’s easy surrender.

            “Alright, it’s your life. If you want to build it on top of a web of lies, why should I care?” Draco asked rhetorically. He didn’t want to be the scape goat for what had happened. He wanted Harry to end it with Ginny, because Ginny was all wrong for Harry. Draco didn’t want to be blamed for breaking them up.

            Taken aback, Harry blinked, his mouth hanging open. “You won’t tell Ginny?” he asked, just to make sure.

            “Why would I tell her? I think it’ll be a laugh when the divorce comes around.” That there would be a divorce, if there was ever a marriage, seemed inevitable to Draco.

            “Alright then, as long as you don’t tell.” Only then did it occur to Harry that he was planning on lying to his fiancé. He felt bad about it, but what choice did he have? Ginny would freak if she ever found out; she hated Draco.

            Draco nodded, as if Harry had any right to demand his silence.

            Head hurting, Harry then went off in search of a hangover potion of his own. He found his supply in a cupboard in the kitchen. He downed a vial, before fixing himself a soothing cup of tea. He sat at the table, mug in hand, contemplating the previous night. It wasn’t until the floo roared to life that he realized that it was a weekday and he was late for training.

            The head in the fireplace belonged to Lieutenant Stevenson, which was odd, because he wasn’t the one in charge of Auror training; Lieutenant Grubbly-Plank was. He exchanged greetings with Harry in a tone that conveyed seriousness, but not in the stern voice that would indicate Harry was in trouble.

            “Look, I know I’m late. I’ll get dressed and come in right now,” Harry said.

            “No need; you called last night and reported your family emergency. You can have the day off. I was calling to keep you up to date on the situation. So far we’ve found no one with information on Lucius Malfoy. Even more disturbing, the Austrian Ministry did not bother investigating. They took the report on Narcissa Malfoy’s contact with them and left it at that. They don’t care, because Lucius is one of our citizens, not one of theirs. They don’t want him there, due to his role in the war, but aren’t willing to bother extraditing him either,” Stevenson replied.

            Up until now, Harry hadn’t remembered what had started last night’s drinking binge. Now he felt like an arse for not being more considerate of Draco’s feelings. Here Harry was concerned with Ginny not finding out, when Draco’s father was missing.

            Harry nodded, urging Stevenson to continue.

            “With the Fidelius on the Malfoy estate in Austria, we can’t fire-call anyone in the Malfoy family for additional information. We’ve sent out owls, but they might take days to make the trip. Would it be possible for you to contact Narcissa Malfoy and ask her to fire-call me?”

            That didn’t seem like a difficult task, given that Narcissa was probably as eager as Draco to have Lucius back. Harry himself didn’t know how to get a hold of Narcissa, but he was certain Draco would. Thus he agreed and quickly ended the call.

            Draco was back in his room, in the middle of getting dressed in fresh robes. He’d forgotten his fears for his father, with it all coming back to him upon hearing Harry’s request. He sagged back onto the bed, fresh worry on his face, and agreed to make the call to his mother.

            Harry followed Draco into the drawing room and tried to eavesdrop on the conversation, but it wasn’t in English and a firecall was harder to follow from this end. They spoke in that other language Draco had a habit of slipping into when talking to Leo. Narcissa’s voice could be heard coming out of the fireplace, short and clipped, but not hysterical or obviously worried. There was a bit from Draco that sounded like an angry shout and then a softer apology, followed by some indignation on Draco’s part. Harry didn’t know the words, but Draco was very expressive when talking with Narcissa, and neither worry nor concern for Lucius seemed to be the focus of this conversation.

            “Well? What did she say?” Harry prompted, when Draco ended the floo connection.

            “It was all a misunderstanding,” Draco said with a sigh, sitting back on his knees on the floor with his weight resting on his arms.

            “What? No. What happened?”  
            “It wasn’t an Auror who took my father away from his shopping, but the bookie he owed. The elf was mistaken.”

            “So a bookie kidnapped your father?”

            “Not exactly. There’s a card club he likes to frequent and apparently he got ahead of himself and bet more money than he had on him at the time. The bookie saw him and insisted he return right then to pay it off. And Father being Father, decided to play a few hands before leaving. He lost track of time and forgot to tell mother where he’d gone.”

            “What about the witness who said he was kidnapped?”

            “The witness was just the shop keeper’s elf, who told our elf. He was overexcited and didn’t know what he had seen. Father is home now and says he wasn’t kidnapped, only asked forcibly to go.”

            “Forcibly?”  
            “At wand point,” Draco clarified. “But he won’t press charges.”

            “Why not? You can’t just force someone to go with you at wand point.”

            Draco just shrugged and said, “Father likes his club.” He didn’t like it, but he couldn’t control his father. If truth be told, he was rather sick of the wizard, which was one of the reasons he’d left the safe house in Austria. The other reasons being that the house was too small and that they’d had too many arguments about Leo. Draco loved his son unconditionally, but Leo looked too much like Harry for Lucius to do the same. Lucius wanted a blond haired, grey eyed, pointy faced, pureblooded heir, not the grandson he’d gotten. Leo was still a Malfoy though, and that at least meant a certain level of entitlement, which was why Lucius tolerated the child as much as he did.

            Harry sighed in frustration, but he could see no point wasting further time and effort on Lucius Malfoy. Thus he gave up and fire-called in to Stevenson to pass along the news, before getting ready for work. He was late, but he wasn’t in trouble, because it was blamed on Lucius’ sort-of kidnapping. He did, however, receive shit for it all day from the other trainees, especially Ron. At least they didn’t know about the gay almost-sex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first I thought Draco was making the whole thing with his father up. But then I thought that Draco was getting a bit too manipulative and that Lucius is certainly capable of getting his arse in trouble all on his own. It’s time for Draco and Harry’s relationship to start moving in a healthier direction. Although Harry cheating on Ginny isn’t exactly healthy. What do you think?  
> Please Review!


	13. Chapter13

            “Here Ginny, just give it a try. He’s so adorable you can’t resist,” Angelina said, forcing Teddy onto a reluctant Ginny. His eyes were almost hazel now, after having been in Angelina’s arms. They were generally blue, but could shift towards hazel, green, and even grey, often mimicking the eye color of whoever was holding him. He took in everything, glancing from person to person, but never settling on one thing. Right now his hair was his preferred shade of aqua, although it changed color more often than his mood. And since there were no animals around, his facial features remained human.

            Teddy was two months old and growing rapidly. He was no longer a sleepy newborn, but an increasingly active infant. He could hold his head up and had just started sitting up on his own. He showed no sign of turning over and hated being on his side or his stomach, but he could sit up for hours if propped up and for minutes without support. He was always reaching out, trying to grab something and when he did, it went straight back to his mouth. But, it wasn’t often that his aim was true.

            Ginny had tried protesting all day, but for some reason Angelina just didn’t seem to believe her that she didn’t want to hold the baby. And Harry was egging her on with a, “Come on, Gin.”

            “Even I held him,” Ron added.

            And so Ginny took Teddy and tried to hold him without dropping him. She didn’t see what the point was, really. He was small and his face wrinkled up into a frown when she held him. He smelled bad half the time and was always spitting up on people, which was why she was holding him out, away from her body. Perhaps that had something to do with the annoying fusing sounds he was making. But he could hold his head up fine and he wasn’t in any danger being held under the armpits like that, so no one stopped her.

            It was the weekend after Harry’s mistake with Draco and he hadn’t told Ginny about it. It was an accident and he was certain she’d blow it all out of proportion. She’d probably insist he kick Draco out and never see the wizard again. That wasn’t going to happen, because he was not going to turn Leo out. He was confident that he wouldn’t make the same mistake with Draco again, so there was no reason to turn his son’s life upside down. Thus he lied and he’d almost manage to forget about the lie and stop feeling guilty over it.

            Harry was at a family barbeque over at the Weasleys with Ginny and trying to act as if nothing had happened. Dromeda and Teddy were there along with George’s friends Angelina and Lee. Luna and Neville were around too, standing with Sydney and Alice, who were in Gryffindor with Ginny. Even Percy had come and was talking with Bill and Fleur, his date Audrey by his side.

            Ginny had only seen Teddy three times now and was not at all comfortable with the baby, but Teddy was Harry’s godson and he wanted her involved in the baby’s life. He imagined that once they were married, they’d have both boys on weekends and build forts out of sheets and go flying in the park. Unfortunately, fondness towards and aptitude for babies was just another thing she did _not_ have in common with Draco; not even when it came to Teddy.

            “He looks just like Tonks, doesn’t he?” Harry asked, leaning over Ginny to fawn at the baby in her arms. He hoped that doing so would help her see how important this was to him. Maybe if she put a little effort into it, she’d get better at it.

            “I see Professor Lupin in him,” Angelina said, from Ginny’s other side. Angelina clearly loved babies and hadn’t left Teddy’s side the whole afternoon.

            “Yeah, I guess,” Ginny said noncommittally. She tried to finger the blue hair to emphasize just how little the baby looked like Remus, but that was a bad move. She was already holding him out at an awkward angle and by removing her second hand from gripping the baby, he became unbalanced and slipped out of her hold.

            “Ginny!” Harry cried, darting down with seeker reflexes to catch Teddy just before the baby hit the ground. He made the catch, but Teddy still started screaming as he pulled the baby in to cradle against his chest.

            “What happened?” Molly called out, bustling towards them.

            “Ginny dropped ‘em,” Angelina answered.

            “I didn’t mean to; he just fell,” Ginny said defensively.

            “No one means to drop a baby, Ginny,” Harry replied, somewhat peeved at his girlfriend.

            Harry had no doubt that if it had been Draco holding Teddy, the baby wouldn’t have fallen nor gotten a single scratch. In fact, the last time Teddy and Dromeda had stopped by Grimmauld Place, Draco had held Teddy for the better part of an hour, while Dromeda sat holding Leo. And while Ginny sometimes seemed jealous of Teddy, Draco strangely wasn’t, despite the fact that Draco was the one with Harry’s kid.

            “Here, give him over,” Molly said drying her hands off on a dishrag before reaching out for Teddy.

            Teddy was mostly quieting down, but Harry complied anyway, because of the daggers Ginny was shooting the baby. As soon as Molly was back inside, he asked, “What’s wrong Gin? It’s okay, you know; I caught him before you could do any damage.”

            “Harry, I’ve just decided that I don’t want kids. They’re bloody little nightmares, seriously. Besides, you’ve already signed away your inheritance to Leo, so by the time you leave me my share, there won’t be anything left for any more kids,” Ginny said.

            “But I will earn plenty of money to leave our children. Leo isn’t getting my investment in George’s store or any money I make myself. And there is talk of awarding me some prize for defeating Voldemort. I was going to donate any prize money to the war orphans, but if it means that much to you, I can put it into a trust for our kids.” Draco didn’t know about the investment, so it wasn’t included in the document Harry had signed.

            “George’s shop is doing rather well,” Ginny conceded. “But, Ministry officials don’t make that much and the Ministry can’t afford to give you any prize money for all of that work. If there is money, it will come from private citizens. But the richest private citizens were all on the other side, so I highly doubt you will be paid. You already have Leo and Teddy, so you don’t need another kid. It won’t be a problem, will it? You don’t need more than two.”

            Harry had to stop and think about that one. He’d always imagined himself with a house full of children. Yes he had suddenly found himself with two, but were they enough? Was he willing to end all his dreams of having more kids, because Ginny didn’t like them? What would it be like to grow old with her, without any children of their own? Leo would live with Draco for the most part and Teddy with Dromeda, leaving Harry’s home void of the pitter patter of little feet.

            “I don’t know,” Harry admitted.

            “Sure you will; you’re a guy. Blokes don’t want kids,” Ginny said.

            Harry didn’t know what to say to that. He was indeed a bloke, but he also wanted kids. Ginny didn’t seem to understand.

            When Harry didn’t respond, Ginny asked, “What are you thinking? Is it still about Teddy? You said yourself; he’s fine.”  
            “Well yes, he’s fine, but Draco won’t be when he finds out. I doubt he’ll ever let you hold Leo now.” Harry only said it because he was still upset about Ginny’s last comment and he couldn’t think of anything else, besides those two things. He didn’t want to discuss her lack of a desire for children anymore, so he went with this instead.

            “I don’t care if he never lets me hold the little brat. Why would I even want to? He’s like Teddy, only worse, because he’s a Malfoy,” Ginny said petulantly.

            “Ginny! He’s a baby,” Harry cried in disbelief. And as far as he could tell, Leo had his happy disposition, not Draco’s. Leo smiled and laughed at everything and although he could copy Draco’s scowl, he hadn’t yet mastered a scathing retort, so what was there not to like? And Leo looked exactly like Harry, except for maybe his nose was starting to come in a bit pointy, his forehead a bit more graceful looking, and his hair slightly tamer; Harry found just the sight of the baby inescapably endearing and couldn’t help the automatic warm fuzzy feeling in his chest.

            “Alright, prepare to be dazzled all you poor sods! The whiz-bangs are ready!” George cried at that moment, setting off the first of his firework show. That effectively ended the conversation concerning babies between Harry and Ginny.

* * *

 

 

            A few hours later, Ginny pulled Harry away from the crowd and snuck him upstairs to her room. They were snogging for only a second when she slipped her hand down his pants and said, “We need to hurry, so we’re not found out.”

            Harry wasn’t even hard. Ginny started stroking him, but all he could think about was the close call with Teddy earlier and the fact that she didn’t want kids. Then there was the vitriol she’d spilled about Leo. Maybe it was just jealousy or misplaced anger at Draco, but he was thinking twice about his plans to spend the rest of his life with her. If he was forced to choose between her and his two boys, he didn’t know which one he’d pick.

            “Harry! Are you concentrating here? We need to hurry this up before my parents notice we’re missing,” Ginny said, still tugging at Harry’s flaccid cock.

            “Erm, yeah, maybe we should just not do this right now, Ginny,” Harry said, pulling Ginny’s hand away from his bits.

            “Do you want a BJ? I know it’s like a week since we’ve gotten away from Ron.”

            The last time Ginny had sucked Harry off it was inside the girl’s bathroom at the bar they frequented. Hiding from her parents and brothers wasn’t exactly brilliant and he was beginning to wonder what the point of it all was, since they were engaged now and she hadn’t exactly been a virgin when they’d gotten together. He wasn’t even her second or her third, but her fourth, since she’d lost her virginity back in the summer before her fourth year.

            “No, it’s alright. Let me start by doing you,” Harry said, pushing her back on the bed with little enthusiasm.

            Harry knew she expected him to eat her out, but at the moment he was doing it out of obligation rather than desire. He pushed her short skirt up and pulled her panties down. But when he had a mouth full of clit and two fingers up her cunt, all he could think about was Draco. Draco’s body pressed against his, not hers. The feel of Draco’s cock under his hands, even if there was a barrier of cloth in the way, not her hot naked flesh that was actually there in that moment. He looked up at her face and was momentarily disappointed to see red hair instead of blond and broad features instead of pointy. He had a suspicion that sucking cock wouldn’t be as easy as sucking a clit, but that didn’t stop him from wishing it was cock he was sucking and not Ginny.

            This inability to get off with Ginny was rather new for Harry. Given the experience she had, she’d known just how to handle and ride a stallion. Harry, having been a virgin, was like putty in her hands, melting at her every caress. Only now it was growing old and rushed and not exciting him in the way she once had. Maybe if he could just fuck her one more time, they could get that passion back. But her parents had an absolute ban on sex.

            “I want to fuck you again Gin. I want my cock filling up this hole of yours,” Harry said pulling his mouth away from her clit, but emphasizing his words with the jutting movements of his fingers.

            “I want that too Harry. Do it right now,” Ginny urged. She wasn’t worried about pregnancy, because she had a morning after contraceptive she could take when she got carried away.

            “But what about what your parents said. Birth control and STDs and whatnot. I would love to have a baby with you, but just not right now. Preferably after you finish Hogwarts.”

            “We don’t have STDs. You were a virgin and I was tested, so that’s not a problem. As for birth control, I brewed a batch myself. I have a vial in that cupboard right over there. I could take it in a second and then we can fuck all night like gnomes.” She’d always had a supply of the potion while at school too, but in the beginning she had to buy it.

            Harry was tempted, but in the end he decided to stop, because he didn’t want to do this in her parents’ house when they had already been lectured twice. “No, not here Gin.”

            “Then where? Grimmauld Place?”

            “No, that would ruin the mood.”

            “Then where else is there?”  
            “Our spot in the woods. What about using that camping tent that Bill and Fleur gave to Hermione for the Horcrux hunt? We had it, but never used it. We could find out where it’s gone off to. We could camp for the night in the forest.”

            “Camping, huh?”

            “Yes, camping,” Harry confirmed with a mischievous smirk.

            “Yeah, just finish what you were doing first.”

            Ginny’s fingers carded through Harry’s hair. And then she pushed his head down onto her groin and he found himself once again with a mouth full of clit, imaging it was cock. He went at the process mechanically, triggering the areas that he knew would make her scream, but found surprisingly little joy or excitement from it.

            That soon done, they cleaned up and went back to the party. Harry then surreptitiously asked Ron if he knew where Hermione’s beaded bag was, because he wanted some of his belongings he’d left in it. Ron did indeed have the bag, which he was keeping for Hermione while she was out of the country. Ron handed it over to Harry, and left the room, allowing Harry to sneak the tent out. He then shrunk the tent and shoved it into his pocket, before returning the bag to Ron.

            That night, Ginny told her parents she was sleeping over at Luna’s, while Harry let Draco know he’d be out all night with the guys. They then met up in the woods, where they set up the tent and erected a handful of wards and security spells. It took about an hour to set up, but it was totally worth it, because once it was done, they had an entire little plot of forest to themselves for the night.

            The first thing Ginny did when she went inside was to strip down completely, not even sparing her socks. Harry followed after, Ginny pulling at his clothes as well, trying to get them off faster. Then they were both naked and snogging on the bed and Ginny was ready for sex, only Harry still wasn’t hard.   
            “Just give me a minute,” Harry said, pulling on his own cock, his eyes closed, and doing his best to picture Draco and not Ginny. It was Draco lying before him ready for sex. It was Draco kissing down his neck and Draco waiting to take his cock. And in that manner, he obtained an erection.

            While Ginny waited for Harry, she drank her contraceptive potion and then lay back on the bed, her naked thighs spread wide. He started moving blind, his eyes still closed, and she humored him, guiding him to in between her thighs. He was able to do it from there. He used his hands to feel for the wet region between her legs and then guided his cock there. He pushed in, trying his best to pretend it was Draco. If he opened his eyes and looked up, he was so sure it would be Draco he saw, not Ginny.

            Even with thinking of Draco, the sex was mediocre. It wasn’t possible to maintain the illusion continuously, so he was frequently disturbed by the realization that he really was with Ginny. Thus he was determined to make himself cum and end this as soon as possible, not paying attention to what it was like for her.

            When Harry finished, he lay back and felt like a coward and a cad. Ginny sat up looking at him, wondering what was wrong, because he hadn’t gotten her off and normally he did. “What’s wrong with you tonight?” she asked.

            “Nothing, just tired. Did you finish?”

            “No.” Ginny’s tone was exasperated, as if she couldn’t understand how he didn’t know that.

            “I’ll finger you then,” Harry offered, although his heart wasn’t into it.

            Ginny agreed, so that was what he did. Afterwards he cleaned up and went back to Draco. He left her there with promises that he’d come back to put away the tent in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry is still acting like a jerkwad in my opinion, but I did warn for hetero-sex, drunken frotting, and mildly cheating Harry. Ginny and Draco have both behaved badly, and now it’s Harry’s time to mess up. Harry is starting to develop feelings for Draco and fighting it. I do hate cheaters, so I’m going to try to keep it to the bare minimum though.  
> Up next will be another Draco, Harry, Teddy, and Leo chapter…  
> Please review!


	14. Chapter14

            On Wednesday morning that week, Harry, Ron, and the other Auror trainees were hanging around headquarters, waiting for Lieutenant Grubbly-Plank to show up to begin the day’s lessons. Only she never showed and everyone usually in the office was strangely absent.

            Fifteen minutes late, a shaggy haired office assistants named John walked in and announced, “Lieutenant Grubbly-Plank and all of the other qualified Aurors are off on a classified mission. You lot are to hold the fort for the day. Write up cases that come in, study for the make-up test if you didn’t pass it the first time, physically train, or just go home. This is your chance to earn extra credit, so if you are behind, find something useful to do or otherwise use the time wisely. If you are at the Harry Potter level, you should probably just go home so that you don’t make the rest of the recruits look bad. We’ll contact you if there is an emergency.”

            There was a moment of silence and then the group erupted in chatter.

            “Hear that, Harry? I should go home so that I don’t make them look bad,” Ron said smugly.

            Harry cuffed Ron on the ear and replied, “Yeah, and if I’m not at Harry Potter level I don’t know who is.”

            “What are you going to do with the day off? I’m thinking of heading over to George’s shop and giving him a hand.”

            “I think I’ll just go home. Or maybe I’ll visit Dromeda and Teddy. I haven’t seen them since Ginny…”

            “Since my sister almost made a baby omelet out of your godson?” Ron asked cheekily.

            Harry had tried the avoidance tactic when it came to telling Draco about Ginny’s accident, but that had failed miserably. Dromeda had told Draco, and Harry had gotten lectured both for not saying anything and for his fiancé dropping a child. Draco was of the opinion that they were supposed to inform each other of important events, so that they could coordinate the raising of their son accordingly. Something like this happening meant that Ginny should never be allowed to hold Leo, full stop. That was the type of thing Draco needed to know. And although it meant shattering the image of the happy family Harry had been picturing in his head, he reluctantly agreed that the ban was necessary. The alternative would surely lead to Draco tearing Ginny’s head off for hurting his baby. Thus Harry had apologized, once again agreeing to keep her away from Leo, and promised in the future he would do a better job of keeping Draco informed.

            “Yeah.”

            “You know, I’m rather grateful she wasn’t born first. Imagine if she were older than me? I’d probably be mentally retarded from all the falls.”

            “You don’t think she’d improve with time?”

            “Doubt it, she’s so stubborn. I mean, how much worse could someone possibly be with a baby? Mum says she’s obstinate and doesn’t want to learn.”

            That was what Harry feared. He let out a sigh of disappointment. “Anyway, I should get going before it’s time for Teddy’s morning nap,” Harry said, walking towards the floo.

            “See ya,” Ron replied, following with the plan of flooing into George’s shop.

            “Later,” Harry said, stepping through the floo and calling out the name of the Tonks family home.

            Harry stepped into the living room to the sight of two people he didn’t think he would find here. He’d assumed Draco and Leo would be at home at Grimmauld Place, but instead Draco was sitting on Dromeda’s sofa. Leo, who had just learned to crawl, was on all fours on the carpet. Startled by the sound of the floo, Leo fell onto his tummy and started crying.

            Harry moved forward to pick the crying baby up. He bounced Leo to calm his son and asked, “What are you doing here?”

            “Leo and I have been going with Dromeda and Teddy to infant story time at the Puddlemere Library for over a month now. What are you doing here? I thought you were going to work?” Draco asked in reply.

            “Surprise day off,” Harry said with a shrug. “I thought I’d pay Dromeda and Teddy a visit and see how they’re doing. Where are they, by the way?”

            “In the nursery; last minute nappy change.” Draco inclined his head towards the stairs that led to the two bedrooms. “You can go with us if you want.”

            Harry nodded his understanding and took Leo in the direction of the staircase. It was a small two story cottage with the two bedrooms and a second loo on the upper floor.

            As Harry and Leo reached the top of the stairs, there came a voice from inside the nursery. “Draco, I’m almost ready. Just let me get Teddy’s nappy bag and the books I checked out last week.” He recognized it as belonging to Dromeda.

            “It’s not Draco,” Harry said, entering the room.

            Dromeda startled standing there in front of Teddy’s pram, having just buckled the baby in. She placed her hand over her heart and said, “Oh my! Harry, what are you doing here?”

            “Day off. I fancied spending some time with Teddy. Is it alright if I tag along?”

            It wasn’t that the idea of children’s story time at the local library sounded interesting to Harry, but that the idea of Dromeda and Draco meeting without his knowledge was intriguing. Sure he knew she brought Teddy over sometimes while he was at work and that Draco on occasion took Leo to her house, but he didn’t know they had regular outings like story time scheduled. And he couldn’t picture Draco sitting around with a bunch of mothers with babies while some old librarian read them stories. He knew Draco was great with Leo and Teddy, but he never would’ve been able to imagine it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes; this was the same thing.

            “It’s fine with me dearie, but I’m not entirely sure it’s your type of thing. Beside Draco and me, it’s all mothers with their babies. There is a lot of female talk and gossip at these things.” Dromeda turned then and noticed Leo in Harry’s arm and asked him, “Are you ready to go Leo?”

            Leo nodded vigorously and Harry just shrugged, before grabbing Teddy’s nappy bag with his free arm. He didn’t bother looking around for the pram he’d purchased for both boys, since he knew Draco wouldn’t have brought it. No matter how safe the thing was or how many safety charms placed on it, Draco still had his aversion. It only got used when Harry suggested it for their weekend trips to the park and even then it was only a matter of minutes before Draco would stop him and retrieve Leo to manually carry. That was just one of Draco’s ticks: that he liked to carry his son close to him. Harry didn’t really mind and knew that if he wanted it, he’d find the double-pram in the closet in the nursery of Grimmauld Place, where it always was.

            Dromeda picked up the pile of books, depositing them in the basket of Teddy’s pram, before steering the pram out into the living room. Draco stood as they entered the room and got the front door for them. Together the five of them walked the two blocks to the local wizarding library.

            In the middle of a cluster of whimsical wizarding houses held up by magic was a small wizarding market square. They past a grocer, an apothecary, a tailor, and a cobbler. The town wasn’t nearly as big as Diagon Alley, but it had the necessities. And at the end of the lane of shops was a large multistory building with a sign that read, “Puddlemere Public Services: Proudly Serving Your Needs Since 1721. The entirety of the wizarding town of Puddlemere’s public services were housed in this building. The bottom floor contained the small wizarding elementary school, while upper floors contained the offices of the one Auror and the one healer stationed in town, along with the town government, the library, and the senior center.

            They entered the government building and took the lift to the second floor where the library was. The town library was clearly decorated for little kids and an entire half of the floor space was dedicated to the children’s section. Draco tugged Leo out of Harry’s arms and entered said section and the others followed.

            They passed a wall with a large green bulletin board. On it in large colorful letters read, “There was an old witch who lived in a shoe who had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.” It was decorated with a picture of a wizarding house shaped like a shoe, with windows and doors cut out of it and a large number of ginger haired children running about. At the bottom of the board sat a stool and on the stool was placed a book called The Witch Who Lived in a Shoe. Harry smiled, because it reminded him of the Weasleys and he wondered if it was written with them in mind.

            There were several other similar displays featuring books titled, The Wand, the Potion, and the Star, The grindylow grinned and said, “Oh no!”, and The Dragon Named Blagon, the last one carrying her flagon and pulling a wagon full of dragon eggs.

            They made their way to a large circular rug where a number of mothers with babies were already milling about. Some were sitting crisscross on the rug with babies in their laps, while others were pulling babies out of prams, a few were stopping crawling babies from messing up the bookshelves, and one was even chasing after a baby who was running about.

            A short but exceedingly busty witch with a baby girl about Leo’s age on her hip approached Draco, and asked, “How is that blocked duct doing this week, eh Draco?”

            “Er fine, Terryn” Draco replied, just as Harry stepped out from behind him, visible to the witch for the first time.

            “Oh! Is that the famous Harry Potter you’ve brought with ya? I thought you were broken up.”

            “Yes, he is. Terryn, this is Harry Potter. Potter, this is Terryn Holloway nee Bones; we went to school with her cousin Susan,” Draco introduced. “And not only have we been broken up since forever, but he’s engaged to the other woman.”

            “Er hi,” Harry offered a nervous little wave.

            “What’s he doing here?” Another woman, this one taller, slender, and not nearly as well-endowed up top asked, having just captured a crawling baby and moved him back onto the rug.

            “Becca, he is here because he had the day off and wanted to spend it with his boys,” Draco answered.

            “Alright, sit down and we’ll get started!” A cheery pudgy older witch announced to the group. She wore a name tag that read Librarian Kyla.

            Draco sat down on the rug with Leo in his lap next to Terryn, whose daughter was in her own lap. Harry sat on Draco’s other side and Dromeda handed Teddy over.

            “We seem to be a baby short. Would you boys mind if I pop upstairs to the Senior Center?” Dromeda asked.

            “No, go right ahead, Auntie,” Draco replied.

            Harry wasn’t so sure he wanted to be left alone with these women, but he knew Dromeda needed time off from Teddy, so he acquiesced. She left the group to sort out her library books, before heading up to the third floor.

            They were soon listening to the pudgy old librarian read them all a book about a unicorn.

            “The unicorn glances, the unicorn prances, the unicorn dances, the unicorn enhances; the unicorn’s chances with its lance in that stance are very good indeed,” the librarian read. As she read, a crystal ball projected images of the unicorn that changed to match the story. At the end, the unicorn stood holding a lance as if in a jousting competition. It was comical after the previous images of the dancing and prancing unicorn.

            “Is this what all of the books are like? If I’d known baby books were this awful I might not have agreed to come so easily,” Harry whispered, leaning into Draco’s ear to make sure Draco was the only one who received his message.

            They had started off with a wizarding version of Are You Sleeping?, which wasn’t so bad, but Harry couldn’t stand this unicorn story.

            “It will get better,” Draco replied tersely, trying to keep Leo interested in the book and not crawling away from him.

            Harry was pleasantly surprised when the next book turned out to be muggle, filled with a number of short rhymes and songs he remembered from his own childhood; the images from the crystal ball even appeared muggle drawn. Not that the Durselys had read or sang to him, but he’d been in the room often enough when Aunt Petunia read or sang to Dudley. And even more surprising was that all the mothers and Draco sang along, as if they sang these songs every week. Harry tried to remember the words, but found himself struggling to remember the words to Baby Elephant, Swing High, Swing Low, Piggy on the Railway, and London Bridge.

            After the singing break the librarian read a story called The Humpy-Backed Goblin, about a pair of goblins with humps on their backs. When one of the goblins stuck his large nose into the other’s business, the pixies cursed him with a second hump. And again the crystal ball displayed the corresponding images.

            Then they went around the circle, each mother telling what their child learned that week or what problems they were having, with the other mothers offering words of advice or encouragement. One witch overshared and mention that she and her husband had finally had sex again; the first since her child was born, which earned her a bit of raucous hooting from the other mums. Harry felt his cheeks flushing at that. Draco was even redder, the tips of his ears turning the same bright rosy color as his cheeks.

            When they came around to Draco, he said, “I’m doing better; the pain is gone. Leo has been crawling all over the place. He’s faster than last week, so he’s gotten into a number of things while my head was turned.”

            Harry hadn’t realized that Draco had been in pain last week. Terryn had mentioned a blocked duct and although he didn’t know what she meant, he began to think the two were connected. Perhaps Draco had been in pain last week with a real problem and not even told him about it, but told this Terryn woman and the library mum’s group.

            Then it was Harry’s turn and he looked down at his godson in his arms and tried to think. “Er, uh, Teddy, yeah,” he started off not at all intelligently. “Teddy sits up and this morning his hair was fluorescent yellow.”

            “We already know that! We’ve seen him with fluorescent yellow hair before and he’s been sitting up in here for ages,” a woman on the other side of the circle heckled.

            “Now Joan, it’s best not to judge. Auror Potter here obviously doesn’t spend as much time with his children as Dromeda and Draco do,” the librarian moderated.

            “I spend more time with Leo; he lives with me. Could I do Leo?” Harry asked, wanting these witches to like him.

            “Go ahead,” the librarian answered.

            “Alright, well Leo caught a pixie hiding in the curtains last night and gnawed on the creature. I think he’s teething,” Harry replied.

            “If he is, I’ll bash your nose in for giving him the idea,” Draco said jovially. He’d thought Leo was teething before, but had jumped the gun. No teeth had erupted and the symptoms had gone away. But then last night Leo had had a fever and his gums were inflamed, indicating that he really was teething this time. It wasn’t a fun night for Draco and he really did feel like blaming Harry for it.

            “Yes, well he must’ve gotten the idea from our book last week Henry, My Son where the little boy eats a sprite,” the librarian said and the mothers added murmurs of agreement. “Moving on. We have one more song before our parting exorcise. It’s time for The Rattlin' Bog!”

            The mothers clapped their hands or showed their babies how to clap hands. And then they were all signing a song about a tree in a valley that everyone but Harry seemed to have memorized. At least the crystal ball projected the words underneath the scenes of a picturesque valley.

            Finally, they all rose to play ring around the rosie. Teddy, being the youngest, was the most difficult to play with. Although, the mums of older kids didn’t seem to be any better off chasing after runaway mobile babies.

            “Here, we can switch for this if you want,” Draco said, passing Leo over, and taking Teddy in turn.

            Leo’s two months of age he had of Teddy made quite the difference. Instead of just sitting or lying there, he could actually move and get into stuff. Harry sat him down on his bum and stood behind him in the circle. Leo instantly began to crawl away.

            Meanwhile Draco was just holding Teddy in the air under the armpits. Unlike Ginny, Draco had Teddy close to his body with both arms wrapped tightly around the small body, but facing out into the circle. When Harry looked over at them, Draco smirked and said, “You are the one who fell for it, PaPa.”

            Harry sighed and went after Leo. By the time they got back into the circle, the music was already going and the adults were carrying the children in a circle. Harry quickly slotted into the circle next to Draco. The song ended with the lot of them plopping the babies gently down on their bums, which even Teddy could do, since he could sit up. Draco obviously knew that Teddy was the easier child to play with and so had switched. Harry found himself not minding, because it meant he got a chance to hold Leo too, even if his son didn’t want to stay in place.

            “And that’s a wrap for this week. Next week we will be singing I’m Gonna Tell and The False Night Upon The Road. We have booklets with each for those of you who do not already own the master book. Stay safe, learn, and grow; I will hopefully see you all next week,” Librarian Kyla announced brightly, dismissing the group.

            “Alright, time to find my aunt,” Draco said picking Leo up and leaving Teddy to Harry.

            “Where is she?” Harry asked, picking Teddy up and heading towards where his pram was parked on the edge of the room.

            “Upstairs.”

            Draco went off to talk to the other mums then, while Harry retrieved the pram and buckled Teddy in. When Harry looked up again, Draco was standing in a sea of women with babies, seemingly the center of attention. Harry approached with the pram and the nearest woman turned to look at him with a scowl on her face.

            “Shame on you Harry Potter for leaving poor Draco when he was pregnant with your son,” the witch said.

            Draco stepped up behind the witch, holding Leo on his hip and put his free hand on her shoulder. “Stand down Mary,” he said.

            The witch, apparently Mary, bristled, but fell in behind Draco. He broke away and started towards the lift and Harry followed. Draco turned and called out farewells to the women, most of whom were staying to check out books.

            They went up to the next floor where the senior center was. There was a group of elderly wizards on one side playing wizard chest. Dromeda was on the other side playing shuffleboard with a couple of witches.

            A blue haired witch turned to Dromeda when they approached and said, “Is that your Harry Potter you are always talking about?”

            “Yes, it is,” Dromeda said to her friend, before turning to them. “How was story time boys?”

            “Fine,” Draco answered.

            “It was interesting,” Harry added.

            “Right, well best get home before Leo needs his feeding. Teddy already looks half asleep in his pram. Best recline the seat,” Dromeda replied, adjusting the pram, so that her grandson was lying down and adding a bag of fresh library books to the basket.

            Then they went back down the lift and exited the building, heading back to Dromeda’s house.

            “I didn’t know your house was so close to a wizarding town center like this. That will be great for when Teddy starts school,” Harry said.

            “Yes, but Draco and I were talking about putting Teddy in school with Leo,” Dromeda replied.

            “The school in Wiltshire is smaller, but better. Our community is richer, so we pay more for the best teachers and have lots of extracurricular activities, such as music, art, and Latin,” Draco said. “It’s more expensive, but worth it.”

            “It’s a little farther from his house, but they allow floo entry into the school from the houses in their area, provided they have registered children. Teddy could floo from here to the Malfoy Manor and then he and Leo could floo into school together every day,” Dromeda said.

            “Their playground is better too,” Draco added.

            “Sounds like the two of you have their entire lives planned out,” Harry commented.

            “Yes well, it’s not like they can go to school in London, now is it?” Draco asked in reply.

            “Why can’t they?” Harry asked. He’d never even realized that there were wizarding elementary schools around. He didn’t know if there were only the two, or if every town had them. He was fairly certain Ron had been home schooled by his mother, but that may just have been because they were too poor to afford the local school.

            “Harry, the London school has a very poor reputation. It’s overcrowded with third rate teachers and poorly kept up facilities. Only the poorest parents send their children there. But it is the oldest school, so many of the pureblood families still attend, especially those who cannot afford to do otherwise,” Dromeda said.

            “It was where Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe, and Millicent Bulstrode went,” Draco said.

            “Oh, so a stronghold for the old ways?” Harry asked, leaving out that none of those three were known for their intelligence. He had to agree that sending a child to the London school sounded like a horrible idea and was glad Draco wasn’t suggesting it.

            “Yes,” Draco answered.

            By then they were back to Dromeda’s. Harry picked the pram up over the step, while Draco took Leo inside. By the time Harry and Dromeda got the pram inside, Draco and Leo had disappeared upstairs. Dromeda positioned Teddy’s pram in the living room and left Teddy sleeping inside.

            “Well the fun is over for the moment. Draco is feeding Leo and Teddy is out cold,” Dromeda said. “Did you have anything else in mind for your day off?”

            “Oh, er, nothing really. I guess I’ll just go home now,” Harry said weakly.

            “I’ll tell Draco where you went,” Dromeda replied.

            Harry nodded and apparated home. He had a lot to think about and he found himself drifting into Leo’s nursery. He sat on the rocker and let the gentle back and forth motion soothe him as he thought. Then he saw a familiar looking brightly colored book on the lower shelf of the end table that sat right next to the rocker. He’d never noticed the book before today, but he had a feeling it had been there for some time. He flipped the cover and quickly spotted all of the wizarding songs and stories they had sung that day. In addition there were titles such as If You Will Marry Me, Three Craws Sat Upon a Wa' & The Craw's Ta'en the Kneazle, and When I Was Young, I Had No Sense.

            Harry started to read the Scottish story about the crows and the kneazle, but found his attention drifting away. There was just so much to consider, from wizarding elementary schools to Draco’s apparent clique with the library mothers. He absolutely hadn’t expected that Draco was the type of parent to go to that type of thing. Not only was Draco going regularly, he was friends with all of the other mothers, who apparently didn’t think highly of Harry. The mothers thought Harry was horrible for having left Draco pregnant in favor of dating Ginny Weasley. Harry had never considered that Ginny might be thought of as the other woman in some people’s eyes.

            Then there was the fact that Harry was slowly getting to see another, softer side of Draco. The part of Draco who took care of Leo and put the baby’s needs above all others, Harry found endearing. Draco was more open when dealing with Leo, sacrificing his image to sit in a circle and sing silly children’s songs. Draco was putting all of his effort into giving Leo the ideal childhood, with trips to the library and walks in the park.

            And then Harry realized something about Draco. _Draco loves Leo unconditionally_ , he thought. He knew instantly that it was true and it brought a giant smile to his face. He was happy his son had a parent like Draco. Draco would make certain Leo had everything Harry had never had. Draco had even said that his reason for coming back was to make Harry play his part in Leo’s life, because it was what was best for the baby.

            It wasn’t just some scheme to make Harry miserable as Ginny would insist, but an altruistic desire to give Leo a normal life. And despite Leo’s questionable beginnings, Draco was doing his best to make people believe there had been a secret relationship with Harry, for Leo’s sake. Draco was sacrificing his image in favor of portraying the jilted lover, so that Leo would think he was conceived in love and not with black magic.

            It all came down to one simple fact. Harry had unwittingly lucked out in this situation. He had a child with someone who was better with children than Ginny was and would put that child’s needs above all others. He’d miscalculated in thinking that just because Ginny was from a big family that she’d want children and be good with them. But being the youngest child, she didn’t have the experience or the fondness with them that ran in her family. Harry hadn’t planned it or wanted it this way, but the way things were, suddenly looked better than he could ever have hoped. Draco was the perfect father and Leo would benefit from it.

            That is what was going through Harry’s mind when Pig winged his way into the nursery and sat on his shoulder. Tied to the owl’s leg was a scroll of parchment, which he untied to find a note from Ginny. He freed pig, who took off circling excitedly about his head as he read.

 

_Harry—_

_Where are you? Just saw Ron, who told me about your day off. Why didn’t you tell me? We should go see that muggle thing you tell me about, a move-ee. I’m getting dressed now and flooing to Grimmauld. Be ready._

_—Ginny_

            Well that settled what Harry was going to do with the rest of his day off.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had fun looking up British children’s songs and stories for this. What did you think of their little outing?  
> Up next I think Ginny will start to get on Harry’s nerves… A reviewer mentioned though that I seem to have left out all of Ginny’s good qualities, so the story is getting a bit unbalanced towards Ginny bashing. The trouble is, I can’t remember what her good qualities are. Do any of you know? Whatever they are, I think it would be fun if Harry suddenly found them all annoying.  
> Please Review!


	15. Chapter15

            Ginny arrived when Harry was still changing out of his maroon Auror robes and into a muggle t-shirt and jeans. She was mad he hadn’t thought of her first and had been about to pass away his vacation without her. He was mad that she was mad and about the way she’d ordered him to take her out. He’d had such a nice morning with his boys and this was the entirely wrong ending to that. Ginny’s loud high pitched voice started to combine with all of the earlier obnoxious singing, to produce a mild headache. He was worn out from his morning and what he needed was a bit of peace and quiet. He would’ve preferred staying in to a quiet dinner tonight, but that wasn’t what he got.

            Soon Ginny forgot all about her anger as Harry led her to a muggle movie theater in London, dazzled by the muggle lights and flashy posters. He wanted to see a movie called Dragon’s Sun, but she didn’t, because it didn’t sound muggle enough. That was one of the things he had liked about her; not that she was bossy, but that she liked muggles. She was genuinely interested in how people live without magic. She was open-minded, friendly, and willing to give anyone a chance, to the point where she chatted up the handful of muggles they came across while waiting in line at the concession stand and sat next to in the theater while waiting for the movie to start. She was eager and excited; that used to make him eager and excited too, but today her energy just wasn’t catching.

            If you would’ve asked Harry a few years ago which sounded better, going to the movie theater with his girlfriend, or going to the library with Draco Malfoy and singing children’s songs, he would’ve thought the answer was obvious. The thing was though, that Draco had an unfair advantage in the form of two babies. It wasn’t just singing, it was smiles, excited babbling, laughter, and even a few giggles that the library show had managed to produce. It was the happiness of his little boys and that was something Draco, and not Ginny, had somehow cornered the market on. In comparison, the movie was loud and dull, the popcorn was stale, the seats were sticky, and his girlfriend’s annoying voice was grating on his nerves.

            They watched a chick-flick. It was a horrible sappy nightmare and Harry hated every minute of it. Maybe the library really had been more fun than the movies. It could also have had something to do with the fact that he had _wanted_ to go out with his boys, but had been _ordered_ out with Ginny. He had been given a choice with everything that had happened this morning, but this afternoon was an obligation.

            Although, Draco could be bossy too, especially a few days ago. Last night Harry had taken it upon himself to help out with the baby after the pub, but sometimes Draco ordered him to help before he even realized help was needed. Last night it had been obvious though, because Leo was crying with a fever and swollen gums. Harry had offered on his own to watch Leo so that Draco could have a break. It wasn’t even that hard, because all he’d had to do was recast the chilling charm on the teething ring, take the battered pixie out of Leo’s mouth, and keep his son from trying to crawl down the stairs. Oh, and hold Leo down while Draco put the medicine dropper with the Willow Bark potion into their son’s mouth. But really, once the potion was in the miniature scowling mouth, Leo had swallowed and the crying turned to whining.

            The night before last, however, Draco had ordered Harry to take a sobriety potion and help him the moment he flooed home. But what had Draco told Harry to do? Call the owl Kevin in public? Grab Leo before the baby could crawl into the pile of droppings the owl had deposited on the drawing room floor? Hold the crying child while Draco vanished the owl droppings from the floor? Of course he wasn’t going to let his son eat owl shite and he didn’t need Draco to tell him to send a letter to Hermione in Australia to get Kevin out of the house. Let the owl pittle over the Indian subcontinent for a few days instead of leaving the untrained beast to muck up the owl cage again. That owl was a bloody menace; they needed to send it off to be trained. Why was it that Hedwig had come knowing not to defecate in the house and Kevin didn’t?

            And what else had Draco ordered Harry to do? Buy flavored Willow Bark potion, so that Leo wouldn’t fuss so much about taking it? Visit his godson regularly? Make room in his house for Teddy’s things? Be a part of Leo’s life? Those demands didn’t get on Harry’s nerves, because they were things he would’ve done anyway. If Draco hadn’t shown up and ordered him to be part of Leo’s life and he’d known the baby was his, he would’ve tracked the Malfoys down to the ends of the Earth. He would’ve made Draco share Leo, Fidelius cottage in Austria or no. He had banished the most evil dark lord who ever lived, for Merlin’s sake; just see what he’d do to that cottage the Malfoys were hiding in. It was a laugh thinking that he wouldn’t.

            Having gotten lost in his own thoughts about covert advanced charm breaking and untrained owls for a good part of the movie, Harry came back to reality and realized he had no idea what was happening in the show. He didn’t know what was going on and didn’t feel like watching the rest to find out. After a few more minutes, he excused himself, and apparated out of the back alley to the owl shop in Diagon Alley. There he scheduled one owl obedience class for the week after next. That was assuming Kevin made it back with a letter from Hermione by then. He splurged for the expensive variety where the owl was dropped off and trained _for_ the owner, not _with_ the owner. The last thing he wanted to do was train Draco’s owl himself and Draco couldn’t be expected to do it, because Draco had Leo.

            When Harry returned to the movie theater, he found Ginny chatting up a pair of teenaged muggle girls in the lobby. Thankfully the movie was over, but he didn’t feel like joining in the conversation. Ginny, on the other hand, couldn’t stop gushing about the movie to her new girlfriends. When he tried to escort her out, she waved him aside and kept on talking. It was ten minutes and a promise to meet next week to go shopping, before she took their phone numbers, promised to call even though she didn’t know how to use a phone, and _finally_ was ready to leave. She would later insist that Harry show her how to use a phone.

            This was becoming an increasingly common pattern with them. Harry would want one thing, Ginny another, and she would end up getting her way. It had started after the war when he was so numb from all of the fighting and deaths that he didn’t know what to do; she’d made the decisions then and led him through life, helping him to reassemble his life into a normal order. But she was continuing to take charge of his life, even though he was over the shock now. Last week he’d wanted Chinese takeout, she’d wanted to try the new American place, and they’d ended up with an awful greasy bucket of fried chicken and flavorless, dry scones. Probably the incident that stuck out most in his mind was in the weeks after the war, when he’d wanted to go to Lavender Brown’s funeral, but they’d ended up at Colin Creevey’s funeral instead. She’d insisted that they had to go, because Colin was in her year, but she failed to appreciate that Lavender had been in his year. The thought of it still brought a sinking feeling to his stomach.

            Next they wandered around until they found a fastfood restaurant where they got chips and ice cream Sundays, because that was what Ginny fancied. She’d ordered while Harry was in the loo and hadn’t bothered to order him an actual meal. He could have stood in the line for himself and ordered the fried fish he fancied, but he’d rather go home and eat Kreacher’s left overs as he did every night; Draco always had the elf cook dinner and there was always extra set aside for him to gobble down after his evening of butterbeers in the pub. Thus he sat gloomily picking at the chips and ice cream, thinking about what Draco and Leo were eating that night.

            “I had an owl from Sydney this morning. She invited us over to her place Friday. Alice and her new boyfriend Shane will be there; Demelza and Dennis too,” Ginny said, implying that they had to go. Sydney Snyder and Alice Tolipan were Gryffindors in Ginny’s year and her best friends. Shane Nelson was the boy Alice had been crushing on for ages, but had only recently worked up the courage to ask out. Demelza Robins and Dennis Creevey were also in Gryffindor, but one year younger, and were dating. Demelza had been on the Quidditch team with them, while Dennis was famous for being every bit as annoying as his late brother Colin.

            Harry didn’t say anything, instead waiting for the command he knew was coming. He sighed and rubbed his temples, trying to will his impending headache away.

            “It’s too bad we can’t invite Stacy and Tricia,” Ginny continued. Stacy and Tricia were the names of the muggles she’d just met. But the party was to be at Sydney’s house, and she was a halfblood who still lived with her parents, including a pureblood father who wouldn’t know how to wipe his arse without magic. There was no way to have the muggles over without them noticing that there was something strange about the wizarding house.

            “We already told Neville we’d be at his place this Friday. His girlfriend Hannah is coming. Luna, Ron, Dean, Seamus, Parvati, Laura, and the whole gang will be there,” Harry said evenly, trying not to be peeved off over this. Ginny hadn’t actually said they were ditching his friends in favor of hers; yet.

            Laura had been a Hufflepuff in the year ahead of theirs and was Seamus’ new older girlfriend. Parvati and Dean were now an item, so Luna and Ron were the only single ones in that group. But Luna was the type of girl to revel in being the odd one out, so it would surely be fine. And Ron wasn’t really single, since he was devoutly loyal to Hermione, but she was still in Australia, so he’d be alone as usual.

            “Again? I don’t fancy spending all of my time with my brother and my ex-boyfriend,” Ginny replied petulantly.

            “Then why did you agree to it when I asked you?”

            “I don’t remember agreeing to it. I probably wasn’t paying attention to you. You tend to go on boring tangents about your friends and your kids.”

            “My friends and my kids are boring, are they?” Harry asked angrily, standing up and jostling the small table in the process. He was still just as prideful as ever and he wasn’t about to stand for this, even if it was Ginny, the love of his life. He’d put up with enough from her already and he’d officially had it.

            “Sit down Harry. You’ll not leave me alone in the middle of muggle London when I don’t know where I am,” Ginny commanded.

            “Apologize then.”

            “No. I love Neville and Luna as much as you do; they were my friends first, remember?” This was entirely true in Luna’s case, since she was in Ginny’s year. As for Neville, Harry had got on with him before Ginny and had spent a lot of time with him fourth year. Ginny had gone to the ball with Neville that same year and always made an effort to include him. It was more like Neville was equally theirs. “But even you have to admit that we’ve been seeing a lot of them. Ron’s my brother; I see him all of the time at home and don’t want to spend all of my time with him too. And things are so awkward when Dean is around.”

            That was another thing Harry liked about Ginny: she collected misfits. Even Alice and Sydney had been unpopular dorks when she’d met them in her first year. Alice had been pathologically shy and although with Ginny’s encouragement she was coming out of her shell, she was still on the shy side. Sydney’s face was heavily scarred, due to a case of dragon pox she’d caught in her youth. Sydney now covered the craters with very thick makeup, but Ginny had befriended her beforehand. And because Ginny was friends with them, they became more popular.

            “And Teddy and Leo?” Harry asked, slightly mollified and hoping Ginny would take that part back.

            Unfortunately, Ginny was growing sick of Harry’s bad mood and in the mood to lash out herself. She couldn’t see what Harry saw in the babies, because she couldn’t see past her own jealousy. She was bold, brave, and fierce, even when she was horribly wrong. Tired of sharing the spotlight, she blurted out the truth, “Are crying snotty nosed babies. They goo and turn you to goo. Honestly Harry, the way you go on about it-” She didn’t finish that last sentence, likely taking in the red color to Harry’s angry face.

            “I’m leaving. Stay here and I’ll send Ron for you,” Harry announced, before turning on the spot and apparating to the Burrow. Between hearing the vitriol from Ginny’s mouth and his continuing bad mood, his anger flared and he couldn’t stand to stay there another moment.

            Harry sent Ron off right away to fetch his sister before anything could happen, giving Ron the coordinates. Thanks to their Auror training, that was all that was needed to reach the destination. He was about to go home, but Arthur Weasley overheard the conversation and whisked him away to the garage for a little chat.

            “What happened?” Arthur asked, closing the warped wooden door of his little workshop. He had a muggle clock open on his workbench, with half the mechanism exposed.

            “She insulted my friends and my boys. Said they were boring,” Harry admitted.

            Arthur looked disappointed and was silent for a few minutes, before he sighed and said, “Harry, sometimes some people need more time to grow up. She is jealous of your Leo and Teddy. This has been a time of upheaval, chaos, and changes for her and for everyone. She needs time to come to the realization that your boys are an important part of your life. Molly and I try to explain it to her, but sometimes a person just needs to see for themselves.”

            “Do you really think she’ll come around?” Harry asked hopefully.

            “I do. As her dad, I think her mum and I have instilled in her the wisdom she needs to make the right decisions. We hope it won’t be long before she uses it.”

            Harry nodded and Arthur clapped him around the shoulder in a man hug. He would’ve gone inside the house with the wizard, but he could hear Ginny yelling from here, Ron having already retrieved her. Thus he allowed Arthur to go inside to help Molly alone, choosing to apparate home instead.

            That evening Pig arrived for a second time with a note from Ginny.

 

_—Harry_

_I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I hope to see you at the pub tomorrow after work for a Butterbeer._

_—Ginny_

 

            It wasn’t much, but it was more than Ginny had ever offered before. Harry remembered Arthur’s words and decided to give her another chance. Thus he sent Pig with a return message that he would be there.

            The next day was a hectic one at Auror Headquarters, with the place teeming with captured werewolves. The fully trained Aurors had used the information provided by Draco to take down an entire camp of them hiding out in the woods. Harry, Ron, and the rest of the trainees were put to work processing and filling out paperwork. Harry was even allowed to sit in on the interrogation of Deimos Greyback, the leader of the pack and the one urging all of the others to infect innocent witches and wizards.

            Deimos Greyback was a real piece of work. Harry decided that Deimos was the lowest and scummiest life-form he’d ever met. The werewolf was every bit as indoctrinated into the ways of his father as Draco was to Lucius’ pureblood beliefs.

            After spending the afternoon trying to get information out of the dirt-bag, Harry was so exhausted that he’d forgotten all about his fight with Ginny the previous day. He went with Ron to the pub that evening and the three of them drank until he couldn’t remember anything anymore. Ron helped him back home. At work the next day Ron informed him that he’d drunkenly agreed to go to Ginny’s friends’ instead of visiting Neville. He couldn’t remember agreeing to that, but a drunken promise was still a promise and he intended to keep it. Neville and Luna would understand.

            A quick trip home to Grimmauld Place was needed for Harry to change, before he apparated over to the Burrow to pick Ginny up. From there they flooed together to Sydney’s house.

            Being a sixth, going on seventh, year, Sydney still lived with her parents at the Snyder family home. It was a small house with a cluttered living room filled with overstuffed furniture and knickknacks that Umbridge would’ve been proud of. Harry tripped over the coatrack exiting the fireplace, but instead of having to stay and try not to knock anything else over, he was thankfully motioned down a flight of stairs into the basement. The basement was empty, except for a small group of witches and wizards gathered around a cheap table spread with chips, dip, cupcakes, a large punch bowl, and a wizarding wireless, which blared the Weird Sisters’ music like it was in.

            Harry recognized Sydney, Alice, Shane, Dennis, and Demelza, but there was a sixth person, a wizard, there who he couldn’t place.

            “Ginny! Harry! So good of you to make it!” Sydney yelled loudly over the music, sounding at least half drunk, and holding onto the unknown wizard. As always, her makeup was applied heavily, giving a cartoonish look to her average features. “This is my boyfriend Kellan! His parents sent him to France during the war, but he’s back now! He graduated this year!”

            “Wasn’t he in the year above Harry? Shouldn’t he have graduated last year?” Ginny asked her friend, before saying directly into Harry’s ear. “Kellen was one of the ones who left Hogwarts when Voldemort returned after the Twiwizard tournament.”

            “Yes, but it took him a year to learn the language,” Sydney explained. Kellen just shrugged.

            Before the greetings even finished, Harry found himself with a glass full of obviously spiked punch. It tasted more like whiskey than it did fruit juice. Ginny and her friends always -drank heavily, because the alcohol helped Alice get past her shyness, lowering her inhibitions. Unfortunately, Sydney didn’t need her inhibitions lowered any more than they were in her default state and alcohol usually had her acting the fool. Sometimes Sydney was the life of the party, but anyone left sober would say that her antics were childish and annoying.

            And as long as Harry was drunk too, he could tolerate Ginny’s annoying drunk friends. He soon found himself dancing poorly with Ginny, bumping into the other couples. During his more sober dance breaks, he took the chance to say a few words to Demelza and ask how she’d been. Demelza wasn’t terribly interested in her date Dennis, but Dennis had asked and asked and practically badgered her into the first date. She was thinking of ending it soon, but was worried about how Dennis would take it after having lost his brother so recently.

            The Creevey brothers were also among Ginny’s band of misfits she’d collected over the years. Harry had always found the pair of boys with their Harry Potter fan club annoying. Tragically, Colin was killed during the final battle and Dennis hadn’t taken it well. Ginny responded by doing what she always did, making sure he was always invited along with them. Harry wished Dennis wasn’t around so much, but helping others by including them in on the party was one of her things. That she wanted to help and include everyone was one of the things that had made Harry fall in love with her. The only problem was that she seemed unwilling or unable to extend that same compassion to Teddy and Leo.

            As the night wore on and the drinks flowed, Harry’s dancing ability worsened considerably to the point where he’d been kicked off the dance floor. The final straw was when he’d slipped and run into Sydney and her date. Ginny had been teaching him to dance all summer and he was getting better at it. Ginny liked teaching him, but she had a limited amount of patience and could only take so many stepped on toes.

            Harry found himself sitting on the floor leaning back against the wall, listening to the music, wondering what he was doing here. He wanted to be with his friends. He wanted to talk to Neville, Luna, Dean, and Seamus. It would be good to see Parvati and Hannah too. But no, he was once again at Ginny’s thing, doing what Ginny wanted.

            Ginny was now dancing with Kellen’s younger brother Ellard, who had shown up with the next round of drinks. Ellard looked much more familiar than his brother and it was soon revealed that he had been in Harry’s year in Ravenclaw, before being pulled out of school with his brother. He had one year left of school and his parents were allowing him to transfer to Hogwarts, meaning that he’d be in the same year as Ginny now.

            Harry thought that he ought to be jealous of how close Ellard and his girlfriend were dancing together or maybe even that Ellard was dancing so much better than he ever managed. Maybe it was the Scotch Ellard had brought, but Harry couldn’t quite manage to care. If he cared about anything, it was getting home so he could sleep the coming hangover off. He’d promised Teddy and Leo that he’d spend the next day with them at the park. They were babies and probably wouldn’t know, but he didn’t want to get into that habit now or ever.

            The others drifted away then, as they walked to the other side of the basement to join a drunken game involving a ping pong ball and cups of alcohol. Harry was too exhausted to move and his eyes soon closed as he finally succumbed to sleep. He woke up on the cold basement floor around four am and puked his guts out into a bucket brought to him by a house elf. He found his glasses on the floor near where he’d slept, which he had to wash cupcake frosting off of, before putting them back on. Then he checked the other passed out bodies still strewn on the floor for Ginny, but she wasn’t there, so he apparated straight home, without saying a word to anyone.

            Harry drank a vial of hangover potion, before making his way to his own bed and falling asleep, grateful to have the comfort of a real bed once more. His last thought was that he was going to have to stop drinking so much. He woke a few hours later feeling much better and took his boys to the park as promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reviewer suggested making Harry jealous by giving Draco a love interest and sending Draco on a date, so I’m thinking about doing that next. I’m imaging some arranged thing, planned by Lucius. He seems like the sort of overbearing father who would try to arrange a marriage. Do any of you have any ideas? And just how experienced in love do you think Draco should be? At first I thought he might have done some experimentation at Hogwarts and that since Harry hadn’t ever been with a man, Draco might be the aggressor. But as I started thinking about where this story was going, that didn’t fit at all, so I decided Draco should be a virgin. But, just because he’s never had sex, doesn’t mean he hasn’t done anything. At least he’s probably kissed on gone on dates, but there is still a lot of in between area. Most important is the attitude Draco should have when talking about it. Should he come off as innocent, reluctant, or willing? It sounds a bit weird to me to have him overplay the modesty card…but on the other hand, we’re talking about an arranged date of his father’s picking, not a date with the man he wants.
> 
> Please review!


	16. Chapter16

            Molly planned a family brunch for that Sunday. Despite the tension between Draco and Ginny, Molly sent an invitation for Draco and Leo. Draco thought that was possibly the worst idea he’d ever heard and wondered in the Weasley matriarch was quite mad. Harry spent a few sentences on how nice Molly was and how genuine the invite was, because Molly really did want to meet Harry’s family. But he didn’t try too hard to convince Draco, because that was surely a recipe for disaster. Draco was still angry at Ginny for having dropped Teddy.

            In the end, Harry went to the brunch alone, while Draco took Leo to visit some of Draco’s friends. Dromeda and Teddy came to the family gathering and all of the Weasleys were there. It felt like a big happy loving family. It was the family Harry wanted to be part of. It was almost perfect, except two very important people were missing. He spent some time with Teddy and the Weasleys before trying to floo home.

            The floo connection to Grimmauld Place was blocked and Harry was spit back out of the Burrow’s fireplace. He’d heard of this happening before, the Weasleys in particular having a problem with it. It occurred when the floo was already in use, because two people couldn’t use the same chimney at the same time. For regular flooing, the second person’s arrival was only momentarily delayed until the first person cleared the fireplace, often spitting the second person out on top of the first. But with fire-calls, which lasted much longer, the second caller or flooer was completely blocked out until the first call ended. In this case, Draco must’ve been calling someone.

            With the floo blocked, Harry turned on the spot and apparated to the top doorstep of Grimmauld Place. He hung his cloak up on the coatrack before heading upstairs to see who it was Draco was talking to. He heard the sound of arguing before he reached the landing. Recognizing the voice as belonging to Lucius Malfoy, he wanted to know what Lucius and Draco were arguing about, so he went into stealth mode, making as little noise as possible. He crept up the last few stairs and edged towards the open door to the drawing room, wishing he’d had his invisibility cloak in his pocket. That was the problem with leaving school; he was no longer expected to carry his backpack around, so it and his cloak were on the floor up in his bedroom on the fifth floor and thus out of reach.

            Looking into the room, Harry could see Lucius Malfoy’s head spinning in the fireplace. Draco was kneeling in front of the fireplace, a scowl etched on his face. He didn’t notice Leo at first, but on his second scan of the room he did see the baby. Leo was playing in his swing, and although the lights were flashing and the little hands were batting the toys, no sound was emitted. Leo’s side of the room was eerily quiet; Harry puzzled over this for a moment, before deciding that Draco had cast a silencing bubble around the baby. That was probably a good idea, considering how loud the argument between Draco and his father was.

            “Is there some other prospect I don’t know about then?” Lucius asked pretentiously.

            “No, but I’m working on it. I need time for it to progress,” Draco pleaded.

            “No. I will not tolerate this,” Lucius replied with a scowl. “If you wanted to live the single bachelor life you should not have had a child. I tolerated an illegitimate grandson, but I will not tolerate you remaining single afterwards. You need to marry into a respectable family as soon as possible. And you cannot hope to do so unless you allow wizards from respectable families to court you. Dane Ndiaye is Minister Shacklebolt’s nephew. The political connections do not get better than that and he also happens to be gay, which meets your requirements. I will admit that the grandfather being from Senegal makes for less than ideal genetic material, but I am having a hard time making a match for you. This Ndiaye expressed interest in you and is willing to overlook certain lapses of judgment this family has made in the past few years. We cannot afford to cross this suitor off of the list without due consideration. Therefore you _will_ allow him to court you. You are going to find a babysitter and owl Ndiaye with when you are available for a date.”

            “I’m not the only one responsible for the lapses in judgment,” Draco countered, folding his arms across his chest.

            “Look Draco, I know I made a mistake and backed the wrong side in the war, but that cannot be helped now. It’s over, we lost, and the family needs to come out of this unscathed. The best way to accomplish that is to make the right match. We need someone like Ndiaye to marry into the family. And a quick marriage will go a long way towards covering up the fact that you produced a child outside of wedlock,” Lucius retorted.

            “I was forced to by your precious Lord.” Draco sneered at his father.

            “Following him was an oversight on my part, I will admit. No one should have ever even asked that of you, but that is beside the point. The point is that now that it has happened, you need to be married,” Lucius said.

            “If I could just have some more time. He’s coming around, I know it. I want him, not Ndia-, er Dane.” Struggling to pronounce the last name of his suitor, Draco decided that needs necessitated the first name basis. He knew how to pronounce the name of every British pureblood, but only two generations had passed since the first Ndiaye moved into the region, so it hadn’t yet made the list.

            “You have always had an unhealthy fixation on him. You need to stop obsessing over someone you cannot have and focus on the possibilities that are open to you. Besides, that is hardly the match I want for this family.”

            “And why not? Who better is there to turn the image of the Malfoy family around?” Draco asked.

            “Ndiaye, for one. I am not going to have this argument again. You know my reasons against it. Now you are going on a date with Dane Ndiaye and I will not be hearing otherwise,” Lucius insisted sternly.

            “Fine.” What Draco really wanted to say was fuck off, but he didn’t dare say it to his father.

            At least it wasn’t another witch, although Draco still hated being set up on blind dates, especially by his father. Lucius was, after all, the one who had had the bright idea to betroth Draco to Pansy Parkinson. The last date with her had been quite painful with all of the boobs and long legs on display. He’d wanted to heave during the goodnight kiss. After that he’d laid into his father about all of the girly bits he didn’t want on his future spouse. He’d insisted on dates with cocks, or else he was going to proclaim his love for cocks in the Daily Prophet. Apparently the threat had worked, because all of the proceeding dates, including Dane, had the proper wizard bits.

            After the split from Pansy, Narcissa took over arranging the meetings, thankfully choosing wizards. Draco had kissed a few boys and asked for additional dates. His favorite was the Lestrange boy, Rox. Rox was in the year above him in Ravenclaw and they’d gotten quite close that summer. They experimented with each other, but they never went too far, so Draco had limited sexual experience. Then they’d gone in front of the Dark Lord together to get their marks and that was the end of it. Draco was given his orders to seduce Harry and Rox wasn’t part of it.

            Rox had his own tasks, dropping out of Hogwarts to go off with his uncles Rodolphus and Rabastan. Rodolphus and Rabastan returned, but when they reported back, Rox wasn’t with them. Officially Rox was killed in battle, but with the cagey way Rodolphus said it, Draco got the impression that Rox had chickened out and run away, fleeing the country. There was no body, no giant blood stain on the ground to mark where he allegedly fell, and no funeral. Likely the Lestrange family was covering the desertion by claiming Rox dead. Draco asked his parents to find out about his former boyfriend, but Lucius said they mustn’t talk about it, which was code for, “The boy ran away with his tail between his legs.” That happened with a lot of young pureblood wizards during the war.

            When school started back up sixth year, Pansy Parkinson started hanging all over Draco, as usual and he let her. He was too preoccupied with his forced split from Rox and his tasks for the Dark Lord to worry about dating. He didn’t know how to explain what had happened with Rox, so it was easier to pretend to be interested in Pansy again and let the bint hang all over him. His friends knew he was gay, but the rest of the school didn’t and he was too busy to come out. He needed a cover and she was convenient.

            Narcissa responded to the disappearance of the Lestrange boy by setting Draco up with other gay purebloods during the summer after sixth year. They hadn’t been too bad, but then there was the awkward bit where Draco reveled he was pregnant with Harry Potter’s love child. After finding that out, none of those boys were interested in a second date. By the fall he’d started to show, word got out, and there were no more dates. That was fine with him though, because he was tired of being set up by his parents. He could find his own man. He already had his sights set on one.

            “Good. Owl me with the arrangements and make sure you do not go anywhere alone with Ndiaye, without a chaperone present at all times.”

            “Yes, yes, I know…” Draco drawled. Normally he’d protest, but a chaperone would keep his unwanted suitor at bay.

            Lucius nodded and said, “Take care. Your mother wants to speak with you now.”

            Then Lucius Malfoy’s head disappeared from the floo and was replaced by the head of Narcissa Malfoy. “I’m sorry about this, Draco, you know how your father gets, but this really is all for the best,” she began. “I’m certain it will go well and Dane will be a good, kind husband.”

            “And if it doesn’t?” Draco asked seriously.

            “Then it is only one date.”

            Draco sighed and nodded in response.

            “Draco, what precisely do you not like about this date? Is your reluctance just because your father set it up?” she asked.

            Draco lowered his head in thought for a moment, before resuming eye contact with his mother and saying, “Can you imagine it? A Malfoy married to a Shacklebolt? The idea is just ludicrous.”

            “The Shacklebolts are a proper pureblood family. They have been in this country for hundreds of years and their genealogy is pure wizards for hundreds of years before they came here. Dane’s mother is a Shacklebolt and his father’s family, the Ndiayes, are an affluent pureblood family from Senegal.”

            “It’s not about that, Mother.”

            “Then what is it about, Draco?” Narcissa asked.

            “Just look at them! Can you imagine me with one of them? And think of the children!”

            Narcissa sighed and replied, “I know, it is an unusual match for a Malfoy. But Draco, you have to understand how hard it is for your father and me to find you acceptable suitors. Your choices are rather limited at the moment.”

            “Yes, I know, Mother, but can’t you find someone who looks a little more like me? I mean seriously, have you seen this Dane?” Draco asked. His last and only serious boyfriend, Rox, had been perfect; tall, blond hair, blue eyes, pale, and masculine and definitely not a Shacklebolt.

            “Yes, your father and I met him and he was quite charming.”

            Draco scoffed. “I doubt it. I haven’t met Dane, but I’ve seen the brother. Prince, isn’t it?”

            “Yes, I believe Dane’s younger brother is named Prince. What about him?”

            “Well he was in _Hufflepuff_ a year ahead of me, the fat slob was. He’s a chubby, dorky, buffoon. He’s a bloody idiot, that’s what he is.” Draco hadn’t realized Prince was related to the Shacklebolts, but the knowledge didn’t change his opinion of the wizard.

            This was one of the things Harry didn’t like about Draco: Draco was judgmental. He hadn’t met the guy and already he had formed an opinion based on the fact that the brother was in Hufflepuff.

            “Dane has little in common with his brother, I assure you. He was in Gryffindor, I think” Narcissa replied.

            “Gryffindor? Father has set me up with a bloody Gryffindor?” Draco asked incredulously.

            “Yes, quite possibly,” Narcissa answered evenly. “It’s not as bad as you are making it out to be, Draco. Just give him one try and see if you like him; that’s all your father and I are asking.”

            Draco scoffed again. “And if I _do_ like him? Do you seriously want that sort of grandchildren? Imagine the Malfoy heir being half _Shacklebolt_.”

            “Your father has said that he will make Leo his heir, if a more suitable heir is not produced.”

            “So if I were to marry this Dane fellow and have unsuitable children with him, then Leo would be my heir?” Draco asked for clarification. If this was the case, then it explained why his father was willing to marry him off to someone who was probably fat and ugly.

            “Yes, but why should your children be unsuitable? Any child of yours, by dent of being a Malfoy and of your blood, would surely be suitable for anything. And just because Dane might have been a Gryffindor, doesn’t mean the children will be. Look at Leo.”

            “What about Leo?”

            “His father is a dark haired Gryffindor. He has all of the Potter features and yet your features have still managed to seep in and make for a more visually pleasing effect. If you are willing to accept him, then I don’t see what the problem is. Any other child of yours would also inherit your good looks along with various traits from the other parent.”

            “The problem, Mother, is that this Dane almost certainly has ridiculously curly hair. Any child he has is going to have curly hair too. Can you imagine a Malfoy with curly hair?”

            “And what about Leo’s hair? It is certainly a mess and yet he is a Malfoy and you still love him,” Narcissa retorted.

            “Yes, but I had no choice in the matter. And Leo’s hair isn’t that bad.” Actually Leo’s hair was a rather significant nuisance to deal with, especially because the baby hated to have his hair combed. But that was easily enough overlooked and Draco didn’t often dwell on it.

            “If you were to have children with Dane, I am sure you would conclude that curly hair isn’t that bad either. Once the child is here, you will love him or her regardless.”

            “Yes, but until then I have some choice in who I marry. I want good looking children, so it would behoove me to pick someone attractive. And the Shacklebolt’s have that giant nose! What if he gives that nose to the children?”

            “Dane does not have his uncle’s nose. Think more along the lines of your friend Blaze Zabini. He is a good looking young bloke, isn’t he?”

            “Yes,” Draco conceded. Blaze was good looking, but unfortunately straight. “Are you _certain_ about the nose?”

            “Positive.”

            “Oh, alright, I’ll give him a shot. But if Father set me up with an imbecile, then that’s the end of it.”

            “That’s all we ask.” Then Narcissa suggested, “You should owl my sister Andromeda and ask her to babysit Leo.” Draco agreed and his mother continued. “And we should arrange for the date to take place at The Graceful Griffin.”

            The Graceful Griffin was a fancy pureblood-run dining establishment. Before the end of the war, they only served purebloods, Death Eaters, and the select halfbloods. In the days after the war, they changed their tune and suddenly announced that they were open to all witches and wizards, regardless of parentage. They even hosted one of the Ministry galas for free, which Harry had attended with Ginny, Hermione, Neville, and Ron. It was a classy establishment and required formal attire to enter.

            From there the conversation with Narcissa droned on about the rules of pureblood etiquette for a first date. Hand holding were allowed, but the first kiss should be saved for the end or for a subsequent date and there were all sorts of other rules she expected Draco to follow. Draco replied in the monotone voice that bored teenagers often effect to placate their parents. He followed the rules only when it suited him, such as when his date was ugly, had unwanted feminine bits, had been chosen by his father, or all three.

            Harry began to wonder why he was still hiding, because there was no longer anything interesting to eavesdrop on. He already knew from what Lucius had said that Lucius was forcing Draco to go on a date with Kingsley’s nephew. He also knew that Draco didn’t want to do it, because of some other unnamed love interest. He very much wanted to know more about this Ndiaye, as well as the name of the other suitor, but Narcissa was not talking about either.

            Not wanting Draco to know he’d been in the hallway all of this time, Harry slunk down the stairs, before turning around and noisily making his way back up. “Draco! I’m home,” he called, just to be sure Draco heard him this time.

            “Harry’s home. I have to go, Mother. I love you,” Draco said, eager for the excuse to end his mother’s lecture.

            “Alright dear, but do call me tomorrow. I want all of the details. I love you too,” Narcissa replied, just as Harry walked into the room.

            “What’s going on? I tried to floo home, but the connection was blocked,” Harry said. He deliberately kept his gaze on Leo in the swing, so that Draco wouldn’t see his eyes and realize that he’d been listening in.

            “Sorry, I was talking to my parents. I apparently have a date. I need to owl my Aunt Andromeda and ask her to watch Leo for me,” Draco answered.

            “I’ll do it; I can watch him,” Harry volunteered automatically. It wasn’t that he wanted Draco to go on this date, because he didn’t. He said it because he wanted to spend more time with his son. “I’m his dad, so I should be the one to watch him.”

            Draco looked at Harry appraisingly and waited until Harry, who was fixating on the swing, finally made eye contact. Harry held his gaze for only a second, before looking back to Leo.

            “What’s wrong with this swing? I can’t hear Leo,” Harry complained, feigning to be preoccupied with his son to avoid looking at Draco again. He knew it had to be a silencing charm. What he didn’t know was whether or not Draco knew any legilimency.

            “It’s just your standard privacy bubble,” Draco answered, while considering the real question.

            “Is it alright if I cancel it? It’s disturbing how I can see him making noise, but I can’t hear it,” Harry replied.

            “Yes, go ahead,” Draco replied.

            Harry raised his wand and canceled the spell, flooding the room with the sound of baby tunes and Leo’s laughter. “Well, how about it? Can I watch him?” he asked, finally looking at Draco and maintaining eye contact. He was pants at occlumency, but he did his best to put the eavesdropping out of his mind for the moment.

            “I guess you can stay with him, but I would prefer it if my aunt is here with you the first few times. That way you have help if something goes wrong and you can spend time with Teddy at the same time. You can make a night of it,” Draco suggested.

            That was actually a pretty good idea. Harry thought he had enough experience with Leo to get him through one night without assistance, but it didn’t hurt to have backup. And after all, this would be his first time watching the baby without Draco present and he had no idea how Leo might react to Draco’s absence. Plus it would mean having Teddy too, which was a major plus. “Yeah, alright,” Harry agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been hard at work coming up with back story for both Draco and Dane. But, Harry won’t be going on this date with them, which will limit how much of it we get to see. Harry will be there when Dane picks Draco up, but he will only hear about the rest of the date. So I’m wondering how much information should leak out about the first date. One of the problems is that they are going to a public restaurant to have this date, so they might be overheard, and Draco isn’t going to want to get into certain topics. I think much of this is going to have to wait for a second, more private date. What do you think?  
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	17. Chapter17

            Andromeda and Dane Ndiaye didn’t have any plans and the Malfoys wanted the date to go forward as soon as possible. Narcissa would’ve schedule it for that night if the restaurant had an availability. The soonest she could get a table was that Tuesday, so it was arranged for then. Harry forwent his usual drinks with Ginny and the guys in favor of going straight home, so that he could be with Dromeda, Leo, and Teddy. Part of him was really looking forward to the time with his boys, but the other part of him didn’t want to stay home.

            Harry had a strong urge to follow Draco with his invisibility cloak and spy, the way he had done during sixth year. He not just wanted, but _needed_ to know what was happening. This wasn’t only Draco going on a date, but Leo’s father being courted by another wizard. This Ndiaye character might end up Leo’s step-father and replace Harry in his son’s life. If it was happening, he had to know about it.

            Craving the details, Harry wondered what the other man would be like. He wondered if Ndiaye would treat Leo well and love the child. Part of him wanted Ndiaye to, but a bigger part didn’t want to be replaced. He wanted to be the dad in Leo’s life. He wanted to be the loving wizard who plays with Leo on the weekends and after work. He wanted to be the wizard his son looked up to, beyond all others. But these were selfish thoughts and he realized that it wouldn’t be fair to ask Draco not to get married or date; not when he himself was engaged. Draco deserved happiness too.

            In the end, Harry decided that staying home with the boys was the proper thing to do. But he did send Ron to the restaurant with his invisibilityHe     cloak and a pair of extendable ears to spy on Draco and Ndiaye.

            Dane Ndiaye, having been recruited by his uncle Kingsley, joined the Order of the Phoenix during the final year of the war. He didn’t already know the location of Harry’s house, because by the time he’d joined, the Headquarters had moved. But when Draco asked to be picked up there, his uncle passed along the secret. He showed up at five thirty sharp Tuesday evening.

            Draco wore a blue set of fine silk dress robes that were cut in the Chinese style and embroidered with black dragons. When the door rang, he rushed down the stairs to the ground floor landing and peered out the peephole. Following after were Harry, carrying Leo, and Dromeda, carrying Teddy. Dromeda settled herself with Teddy on her lap on the bottom step. Leo fussed, wanting down, so Harry set the baby on the floor. Leo promptly crawled to the bottom step and tried to climb up. Curious as to where Leo was going, Harry helped Leo up onto the first stair, next to Dromeda and Teddy. Leo then sat on his bum and babbled something to Teddy, who babbled back, equally incomprehensible.

            “Well, what are you waiting for?” Dromeda asked Draco. “Open it already.”

            Draco took a deep breath in, and released it, while fiddling with his robes, making sure they were perfectly flat. “How is my hair? Does it look alright?” he asked, hands rising to cup his hair, which was slicked back with gel. He’d gotten a fresh haircut and done his hair the way he’d always styled it in school, instead of the lazy shaggy look he’d been favoring of late; who had time to cut one’s hair every two week and apply fresh gel every morning when one had a baby?

            “It looks fine,” Dromeda answered.

            Harry preferred the look of Draco’s hair falling loose, but this wasn’t his date, so he didn’t say anything. He just nodded and moved to stand behind Draco in the doorway, trying to peer out over Draco’s shoulder in order to get a look at this Dane fellow.

            “Alright. I fed Leo half an hour ago, so he shouldn’t need to eat for another three hours or so. If he gets hungry, you can feed him mashed vegetables or call Mipsy for a bottle,” Draco said, repeating what he had already told them earlier, just to make sure the sitters understood. He planned on being back in under two and a half hours, but this was the first time he was leaving his baby, so he was rather frazzled.

            “Yes, we know. We are to give him a bath before putting him down for his nap. Only give him the baby pain potion if he runs a fever or his gums start hurting him or something. The duck stuffed toy is his favorite and he likes the iced snake rattle to gnaw on, because his gums are all swollen from the teeth coming in. Squash is his favorite, followed by sweet potatoes and carrots, but don’t feed him only orange things or his skin will turn a bit orangey. And since he crawls everywhere, keep the charms up on the stairs, so that he can’t fall down,” Harry said, listing off all of the rules of childcare that he could think of at the moment. They were all things Draco had reminded him of during the last two days in preparation for tonight.

            The doorbell rang again and Dane could be seen peeking through the other side of the peephole, as he tried to determine if someone was coming to answer the door or not.

            “Draco, we’ll be fine. Just get the door before your suitor gives up!” Dromeda exclaimed.          Leo copied her, babbling excitedly, and Teddy added in a shout of, “Aahhhaye!”

            “Go on,” Harry urged, wanting to get a look at the wizard already.

            Draco nodded, took one more deep breath, and opened the door.

            Dane looked more like his uncle, than he did his brother. He was tall, lean, and muscled in all of the right places. Being almost four years older, he was in his early twenties and it showed on the mature, but youthful, line-free face. His hair was dark with a very tight curl, but cut extremely short. The hair of his beard and mustache were the same length, drawing crisp lines over his face. His smile was dazzling with full lips and a mouth full of straight, white teeth. His skin color was dark, but a shade lighter than his uncle’s and his brother’s. His nose was similar in size to Kingsley’s, but a different shape; straighter and well-proportioned on his face. Unlike his little brother Prince, there was nothing dorky or pudgy about him. In fact, he was rather attractive and had been asked to pose for a knickers spot in Witch Weekly, but had declined.

            Draco’s jaw dropped as he checked out the wizard his parents had picked for him. It was always hard for him to remember his father’s prejudiced teachings when faced with a fit bloke. Having an actual human being in front of him of any kind made it harder for him. He’d struggled to memorize all of the hate as a young child, but he’d quickly learned that with a father like Lucius Malfoy, it was always better to talk the talk loud, forcefully, and often. This applied even if it was regarding someone his parents were introducing him to, as long as said person wasn’t in the room or at risk of hearing. It was the only thing that could get him out of walking the walk and as the war with Voldemort showed, he never could stomach the reality of his father’s goals. With a smoking hot bloke to ogle, he had trouble remembering what those goals even were.

            Dane was very fit and at this moment, Draco couldn’t think of any reason to object. Dane’s short hair looked good, the nose was large, but pleasant to look at, and the face was very easy on the eyes. Draco looked up and down, and then farther up, since at six foot six, Dane had six inches on him. He considered himself tall, but Dane was only an inch short of the doorjamb. Any taller and the wizard would have to duck or risk hitting his head.

            Dane raised his eyebrows suggestively as Draco made eye contact. “Hello, I’m Dane Ndiaye. These are for you,” Dane said, holding out a very expensive looking large bouquet of silver-tipped blue roses and wearing a finely tailored set of African-styled dress robes.

            Draco took the flowers with his left hand and held out his right to shake. “Hello, I am Draco Malfoy,” he greeted the dark, good looking stranger.

            “It’s a pleasure.” They shook hands; Dane’s hand was soft, warm, and pleasantly firm around Draco’s.

            Draco’s eyes went over Dane again, taking in the muscle tone under the robes and the bulge in the crotch area. His own crotch began to swell and tingle at the sight.

            Dane’s smile brightened as he noticed the attraction evident in Draco’s eyes. The setting sun gleamed off of his bright white teeth and practically blinded Draco.

            Harry, on the other hand, felt a sudden burst of anger. This was entirely the wrong reaction for Draco to have; Draco was supposed to find Dane ugly and unappealing. What happened to the judgmental snob who was so certain Dane was a hideous pile of lard? Ideally, Draco should’ve had the opposite response, open to the idea of Dane until seeing him and realizing how much more attractive Harry was. This was so wrong. And why was this hot beefcake of a man even on his porch, taking _his_ Draco out on a date? Wait a second, since when was Draco his?

            Confusion mixed with the anger and Harry scowled in jealously at the pair. He was aware that he was being irrational here, but he couldn’t help it. Part of him couldn’t imagine being in a relationship with Draco, for precisely this reason: Draco had been raised as a blood purist, while Harry believed strongly in equality. He was the Savior of the Wizarding World; how would it look if he shacked up with an ex-Death Eater racist blood purist? Now the racist part didn’t seem to be entirely true, which gave hope that Draco could change. And Draco seemed to have the desire to change, which was half the battle, wasn’t it?

            But, this was entirely the _wrong_ moment for Draco to change, as far as Harry was concerned. He’d known Draco for seven years and had come to _expect_ prejudiced behavior. Then the one time it would benefit Harry for Draco to act like a selfish prick, when Draco was leaving him to go out with the tall stud, is the time Draco picks to change? Why couldn’t Draco just act like a racist snob one more time, blow Dane off, come home to Harry, and _then_ change? This was irony for you and Harry didn’t like it. To top it off, part of him hated himself for thinking such selfish thoughts; part of him worried that he was becoming the racist by wanting to encourage Draco to be. He was at war with his own thoughts as he stood back and watched.

            “Just give me a second and I will be ready to go,” Draco said.

            Dane nodded and Draco turned, stepping further into the house. “Will you take care of these Auntie?” he asked, holding out the flowers to Dromeda.

            “Of course I will,” Dromeda replied, but had her hands full of Teddy and Leo. She had scooped her great nephew up in her free arm when Leo started trying to crawl into Teddy. “You just have a good time on your date.”

            Kreacher appeared with a loud crack and announced, “Kreacher will take the flowers.”

            Draco deposited the flowers with the elf and then turned to his family. “Tell Mother that my worries turned out to be fruitless. Apparently my parents _do_ know how to pick them, although I firmly suspect this is mother’s doing,” he said to Dromeda. His mother had taste in men, while his father couldn’t find a hot bloke if the Dark Lord ordered it.

            “Will do. I already promised to fire-call with an update,” Dromeda replied.

            “Thanks.” Draco picked up first Teddy, depositing a kiss on the baby’s forehead, and then Leo, doing the same, before leaving both boys with his aunt. “Love you, be good,” he said, bending down to place one last kiss on Leo’s nose.

            “They’ll be fine,” Dromeda reassured.

            Not wanting to introduce his suitor to his son on the first date, Draco made a point of leaving Leo in the house and not inviting Dane in, so that the two wouldn’t meet. He nodded and then went outside, taking Dane’s hand.

            At the sight of Draco and Dane touching, Harry had the sudden urge to jump in and punch Dane in the nose. He felt like he was five and Dudley was stealing his juice box all over again, only this time he really wanted his juice. Why was Draco initiating the touch? Why wasn’t Draco repulsed? Draco wasn’t supposed to want this other wizard. Harry hadn’t realized how much he was counting on that, until just now when it all went horribly wrong.

            “Oh Dane, do come in for a moment,” Dromeda called, before the wizards could leave.

            Draco sighed. There went his plan of keeping his son from seeing him with strange men. But his aunt had said it, Dane was already moving into the house, and it would seem incredibly rude to stop it now. He should’ve told his aunt he didn’t want Leo to see him with Dane _before_ Dane arrived. Having no other choice occur to him and his hand stuck in Dane’s larger hand, he reluctantly followed Dane back into the doorway.

            Dane entered, still holding Draco’s hand, and said, “Yes, madam?

            “I am Draco’s aunt Andromeda. His mother told me to make sure that you know that Draco here is still pure, despite what it may look like or what you may have read in the papers. We expect him to be returned in the same condition or else. His father is rather proficient with the Unforgiveables, you know,” Dromeda threatened sweetly.

            Draco groaned. In that moment, his aunt had more in common with his mother than he would’ve liked. He had hoped that the fact that his parents were in a different country would eliminate this embarrassment, but no, his mother had passed it along to his aunt. You can take the witch out of pureblood society, but you can’t take the pureblood society out of the witch. He didn’t like the roles he was expected, as a pureblood, to play and so wished his aunt hadn’t said this.

            Purebloods expected gay wizards to take one of the other of two roles that were every bit as rigid and pre-determined as those for straight people. Either he was to behave like a dominant wizard and do the courting, or be the meek little virgin and be courted. It was medieval, it was, and he wanted to be a modern, independent bloke. Why did he have to remain a virgin? Plus, he didn’t feel that either role fit quite right.

            “I have been briefed. Strict pureblood courting rules and everything, got it. I promise not to soil him and that we will be in a public area the entire night,” Dane replied.

            Harry made eye contact with Draco and raised a questioning eyebrow, wondering what was going on.

            Draco replied by turning his back to Dromeda and Dane and making a gagging motion with his index finger, which he hoped only Harry would see. That was what he thought of his parents’ antiquated pureblood courting rules. But, they were a convenient excuse to turn down any of Dane’s unwanted advances and would no doubt curtail those advances in the first place. He still wanted Harry and enduring Dane grope him didn’t exactly fit with that plan, so he had his reasons for going along with it, even if he didn’t like it.

            “Good. You will see him home, I trust?” Dromeda asked.

            “Yes madam,” Dane answered.

            Dromeda nodded and Dane nodded back. Draco schooled his features, trying not to let his disdain show and wondered if he was the only person in the world who had to deal with his father threatening his dates with the Unforgiveable curses. And then Dane turned and Draco went with him, out the door, down the steps, and onto the street. They confirmed their destination of The Graceful Griffin with each other, before apparating separately to their destination.

            Harry watched them disappear from the porch, fighting the urge to follow. Ron would be at the restaurant already hidden under the cloak. If Dane tried something, Ron would be there to stop it… or at least tell Harry about it afterwards. Harry sighed and went back inside to spend the night with his boys.

            Leo was indeed fussy with his first tooth coming in, but the dose of baby pain potion and the iced teething ring Harry gave him did the trick. Once the potion kicked in, Leo was back to his usual happy self and tonight he seemed especially interested in Teddy. The babies had been in the same room many times before, but they were merely next to each other, not with each other. Tonight though, Leo took special notice of the other baby, just like he did when there was an animal in the room. He even pointed at Teddy and made a few hand gestures indicating he wanted the other boy.

            Teddy, for his part, did little more than look at Leo. Although, he also changed his hair color to black and his lips plumped a bit, now more closely resembling Leo’s lips. Harry never noticed it before, but now that Teddy was duplicating it, he realized that Leo had Draco’s lips, not Harry’s. Everything else about Leo’s facial features were all Harry, but the lips were fuller than Harry’s. Draco’s lips were also fuller in exactly the same way. No wonder Leo was so good at scowling. Harry found the idea that Leo had something from Draco appealing. Since Leo had everything else of Harry’s, it was nice to find a bit of Draco in him too.

            Teddy tolerated Leo continuously grabbing him and crawling into his personal space, but he was too little to know what to do about it. When it got too much, he cried and his hair color flashed to a bright, angry red, but he calmed back down once Leo was pulled off of him.

            Overall the boys were rather cute. Harry had his camera out and was in the process of capturing photos of them together when the doorbell rang.

            “You get it; it’s your house. I’ve got the boys,” Dromeda said, summoning the soother as it rolled away from Teddy, onto the floor. She cleaned it with a wave of her wand and handed it back. Teddy was addicted to the thing, but Harry had made him and Leo laugh with silly noises, so it had fallen out.

            Harry nodded and set down his camera. It wasn’t often that he had unexpected guests ring the doorbell. In fact, it had only happened twice so far since the final battle. Once, when Mundungus Fletcher showed up trying to sell him a stolen broom. The other time was when an Order of the Phoenix member, having just been hired by the Daily Prophet, stopped by to ask for an interview. His house was under the Fidelius and was Unchartable, which prevented the vast majority of unwelcomed visitors. He still got the owls in through the back window, but he had a broom closet set up to house his fan mail. Kreacher used said fan mail as kindling to stoke the fire, in order to keep the house warm. Being summer it tended to be on the warmer side, but being wizards, they still needed the fire going for the floo. On one occasion, Draco opened the closet out of curiosity and found the unwanted letters, which led to quite a bit of teasing as Draco read them out loud at the breakfast table. But that was the extent of the unwanted attention and for the most part, only witches and wizards he was expecting stopped by.

            Harry’s friends Neville, Seamus, Dean, and Luna didn’t know the secret, Hermione was out of the country, Ron was busy spying on Draco, Dromeda and Teddy were already there, and Ginny wouldn’t come, since Leo was there. Therefore, Harry had no idea who it could be. He was surprised when he opened the door to find a young witch of average build who he didn’t know. Her robes looked expensive, but were wrinkled and her dirty blond hair was in a messy bun on her head. She wore no make-up and had a frazzled look about her.

            “Er, Hullo,” Harry greeted.

            The woman didn’t respond immediately, instead turning her head quickly at the sound of children’s laughter, accompanied by the heavy fall of running feet and a thud. She cast a cushioning charm and as a result, the second thud was muffled. Harry looked past her, out the door, to see four children playing on his street. This was odd for two reasons. One, she was a witch and judging by the robes and the cushioning charm, the children were of the wizarding community, but no other witches and wizards lived on the street. And two, the muggle children who did live on the street were a bit older and inseparable from their video games, meaning that they wouldn’t be caught dead playing out on the street.

            The youngest child was a little boy of about three, then there was a boy who looked to be a few years older, and two young girls, who were probably also under the age of ten. The girls were obviously older than the boys. The girls had climbed the tree in the middle of the lane, while the two boys were running down the street, the littlest boy chasing after the older one. The pair of thuds had come from the boys as they jumped over a hole in the pavement. There were teasing, playful shouts, and shrieks of merriment from the children as they circled each other.

            “Kira! Krynn! Kirk! Stop that and come here! Rikkard, baby, come to Mummy!” the witch called after the children. Then she finally turned to see Harry at the open door. “Oh my word, it’s Harry Potter! I was beginning to think Draco had made you up!”

            “Excuse me?” Harry asked, confused. Was it possible that someone in the wizarding world didn’t know who he was?

            “I thought he must’ve inherited the house from his mother’s side and moved in when Malfoy Manor was taken from him. Who would’ve thought Harry Potter would be living in the Black family house?” she asked.

            “And who are you? Are you part of the Order?” Harry asked. The witch had to be associated with the Order, or she wouldn’t know the secret and be knocking on his door.

            “Merlin no. I’m Regan Greengrass. I’m Draco’s neighbor,” she answered.

            “And how did you find my house? Has someone let out the secret?” That was the problem with having so many secret keepers, he thought; he never knew when one of them would blab. All it took was one of them slipping one time and the press would swarm the place.

            “Oh no, Dromeda gave it to me. Rikkard and I have been here to visit Draco and Leo loads of times. I’ve never seen you here though.”

            “I live here.”

            “Could have fooled me. Why we’ve even been here for dinner and the elf just sets aside a plate for you, like Draco’s imaginary friend or something.”

            “Right. Who are you exactly? Why is it that Dromeda has given you the secret to my house?” Harry was getting annoyed with this woman’s questioning. Of course he lived here and Draco wasn’t making him up. This was his house.

            “I am Madam Regan Greengrass. I’m Draco’s neighbor from Wiltshire. We have known each other all of our lives, so he asked his aunt to give me the secret, so that my son and I could come over and hang out with him and Leo. Rikkard is three.”

            “And why are you here?”

            “My brother Renaldo Lestrange has been captured by your lot and my sister Raleeah has gone to the Ministry to see if there is anything she can do. She will have to hire a lawyer for him and make sure the bloody Aurors aren’t torturing him.”

            Renaldo, Raleeah, and Ragan were the children of Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange’s younger sister. They were the second cousins of Draco’s former boyfriend Rox Lestrange, who had fled the country along with his mother, Linda. Their parents may have met up with Rox and Linda, having disappeared during a vacation to America two years before. Their grandfather, the Lestrange patriarch, as well as Rox’s father were killed during the first wizarding war. Their grandmother was still alive, but that was it for the Lestrange family. One old lady, two young witches, and four children, none of which had the Lestrange last name. That was what the Dark Lord did to families.

            “We bloody Aurors do not torture the Death Eaters. You’ve got it backwards,” Harry interjected.

            “Very well. Regardless, Raleeah has gone and left me with her three very active children. I thought I would pop over and see if Draco would mind helping me watch them until Raleeah comes back.”

            “Draco’s gone out.” When Regan looked at Harry disbelievingly, Harry continued, “His parents arranged a date for him. He’s gone out and left me and Dromeda with Leo.”

            At that moment, the two boys ran passed the door. Kirk ran straight past, not knowing the secret, but Rikkard’s head turned as the house suddenly appeared to him. The toddler tripped over his feet and started to fall, but caught himself in the nick of time and ran on. Harry, with his seeker reflexes, dashed towards the child in an unnecessary attempt to prevent the fall that never happened. In doing so, he ran down the three steps and became visible to the three children who couldn’t see his house.

            The older of the two boys, Kirk, did a double take upon seeing Harry. He turned back around, pointed, and shouted, “That’s Harry Potter! I saw ‘em!”

            The younger boy, Rikkard, followed Kirk and looked curiously at Harry, before shaking his head and saying, “Naw, that’s just Leo’s PaPa.”

            “Leo’s PaPa is Harry Potter, you retard,” Kirk said, hitting Rikkard on the back of the head.

            “Kirk! Don’t do that. Come here Rikky, Mummy will kiss it better,” Regan said, holding out her arms to the little boy.

            Rikkard ate up the attention. At the same time, the pair of girls jumped down from the tree to come see. Harry then had all three of the older children staring at him.

            “It _is_ Harry Potter!” the younger girl exclaimed and the older one agreed.

            “Er, do you need to come in? Dromeda is here,” Harry offered, thinking that the young witch did seem overwhelmed with the four children.

            “No, I don’t really know Draco’s aunt. It’s like I told you; I’m Draco’s friend. I only met her the once for tea. I was hoping Draco would be here,” Regan replied, looking up from the dirty blond head of her son she was kissing better.

            “Well he’s not. Did you say the Lestrange’s have been captured?” Harry asked, just now registering what the emergency was that Regan had said her sister had taken off to deal with.

            “Yes.”

            “Both Renaldo and Rabastan?”

            “Yes. It’s ever so horrible.”

            “Good, I’m glad.” A smile rose to Harry’s face.

            “Renaldo is my brother and Rabastan is my cousin,” Regan said angrily.

            “And they are both horrible Death Eaters who deserve the kiss,” Harry countered.

            “Why I never.”

            “Then perhaps it’s time you should.”

            “Come along children! We’re leaving,” Regan said, hoisting Rikkard up onto her hip and grabbing Kirk’s hand.

            “But it’s Harry Potter! Can’t we have his autograph?” One of the girls asked.

            “Oh please let’s do, Auntie Regan!” the other girl exclaimed passionately.

            “No, he’s an awful man. We’re going home to Wiltshire. Come along, the floo is back around at the ice cream parlor. If you’re good, we can get ice cream cones, like I promised,” Regan said, walking away, her back turned to Harry. They had only walked two blocks to get here; it was another two blocks to walk back. When it was just her and Rikkard, they flooed over, but she couldn’t do so with the other children, because they didn’t know the secret. She could side-along with only one child, but that too was out of the question with four children. Thus they had walked.

            “Bye Mister Potter,” the older boy called over his shoulder, while the little one waved.

            “But Auntie Regan,” one of the girls protested.

            “No, drop it or we aren’t getting ice cream.”

            Well that was that. The children did want their ice cream and their aunt was insistent. Renaldo Lestrange’s sister led his four nephews and nieces away from Harry’s house, apparently set on watching them herself for the night.

            Harry shut the door behind them and returned to his boys, pleased two of the worst Death Eaters left were off the street. It was odd coming face to face with the pureblood family members left behind. Regan had looked like she was in over her head and could’ve used the help, but she wanted it from Draco, not Harry. That was odd too. Out of all of the people Regan had turned to for help, she’d chosen Draco. And even stranger, she’d had dinner at Harry’s house and brought her son over to play with Leo, and he didn’t even know her.

            For that matter, why had Dromeda given the secret to a Death Eater’s sister? Harry went upstairs and asked her, although the answer wasn’t that mysterious. Regan was one of Draco’s best friends who remained alive and free. She wasn’t a Death Eater herself and was married into the Greengrass family, who had stayed clear of the war. She had a young child, so Dromeda hadn’t thought twice about letting her visit.

 

* * *

 

 

 

            Harry had Teddy in his arms when he heard the sound of apparition through the open drawing room window. The windows had been shut against the muggy summer heat all day, in order to keep the cooling charms from dissolving away. Now that night had cooled the air, it was pleasantly warm, allowing them to open the windows to finally get a fresh breeze to flow through the house and wash away the stale feeling left over from the cooling charms.

            The open windows had the extra advantage of letting the sound through and alerting Harry to the return of Draco and Dane. He walked over to the window and peered down at the street, just in time to see the couple stop in front of the porch.

            Draco had been in the lead, but he turned then, took a step closer to Dane, and reached out his hand to connect with Dane’s. Then Dane took one large step, bringing his body in closer to Draco’s, and leaned down for a kiss. Draco’s neck craned up for a bit to meet Dane’s lip’s partway.

            The jealous monster inside Harry’s chest roared as he watched the moment with suspense. If the two wizards were already snogging, then the date must’ve gone well. He would’ve stayed watching as long as they stayed kissing, but at that moment Teddy sneezed and Harry’s head turned to look at the baby in his arms. He hadn’t been paying close enough attention to Teddy, who practically had his nose buried in the musty old curtains; no wonder the little guy sneezed.

            The force of the sneeze caused Teddy to once again lose his soother, which was in the process of falling to the ground, when it suddenly changed direction and flew into Leo’s outstretched hand. Harry and Dromeda both watched with surprise at the bit of magic and thus both took a moment to react when Leo’s hand brought the soother to his little mouth.

            “No Leo, don’t!” Harry exclaimed as he realized what was happening.

            It wasn’t that Harry thought Teddy had germs and didn’t want the boys to share, but that Draco wouldn’t approve. Draco hadn’t had soothers for Leo, since they were a muggle invention and he’d never heard of them. Teddy liked them so much that Dromeda gave Draco a package of them for Leo, but Draco didn’t know whether they were safe for babies. Harry had therefore asked Hermione’s opinion on them in a letter, sure that being a muggle-born, she would know they were safe.

            What Harry hadn’t anticipated was that Hermione’s parents were dentists and that muggle dentists were against soothers. She had thus written back that soothers might interfere with speech development and or cause an overbite. After Draco read that, he gave the soothers back to his aunt and banned Leo from using the muggle product. Dromeda still thought the soothers were safe and Teddy loved them, so she continued supplying her grandson with them. Harry wasn’t sure whether they were safe or not, but it had been his muggle-born best friend who said they were unsafe, so he went along with Draco’s decision. Teddy could have soothers, but Leo could not.

            Harry’s reflexes kicked in and moved with some speed towards Leo, instinctively cupping one hand behind Teddy’s head as he ran the few strides, to ensure that his godson didn’t get whiplash. He bent down and plucked the soother out of Leo’s mouth, moments after Leo popped it in. “Sorry Lion, that is Baby Teddy’s soother. Father said you can’t have them,” Harry explained, slipping the soother into his pocket. Out of sight, out of mind with Leo.

            “Pa Pa?” Leo asked, throwing his weight forward and shifting into a crawling position. He crawled a step towards Harry and Teddy and then reached out to grab Harry’s arm with one hand.

            “Did you just say papa?” Harry asked.

            Leo nodded and starting pulling on Harry, and said, “Pa Pa Pa Pa,” as he went.

            “Did you hear that Dromeda? Leo’s saying my name!” Harry exclaimed, as he shifted Teddy to one side and picked Leo up with his other arm.

            “Pa,” Leo added.

            “Yes, I do believe he is saying your name, my dear. You will have to tell Draco about this,” Dromeda replied.

            “And get my ballocks hexed off by Draco, because he didn’t say Draco’s name first?”

            Harry tried to balance Leo on his hip the way Draco did, but Leo slipped an inch and Dromeda rushed forward saying, “Here, let me take him. I think Draco will be thrilled. Father is much harder to say than pa. Give Leo here a few more months and I’m sure he’ll be saying Draco’s name too.”

            Harry first handed Leo off to Dromeda, but then Leo cried, so they switched. Leo cried at that too, but Draco gained the second floor landing then and held out his arms.

            Draco had said his farewells on the porch, telling Dane he had a nice time. It had gone surprisingly well, considering that it was one of his parent’s set-ups and that he was still holding out for Harry. It felt good to have someone want him again. Dane pressed for a second date, but Draco gave a noncommittal answer. Although he had had fun and Dane was very attractive, he didn’t want to start something with another wizard. He wanted Harry.

            Then Dane had moved in for a kiss a second time and Draco again returned it to a point. Dane tried to deepen it into a French kiss and that was when Draco turned his neck, causing Dane’s tongue to swipe a wet trail against Draco’s cheek. Draco pulled back, said his parents would be in touch, gave Dane one last nod of the head and a squeeze of the hand, before slipping away, into the house. Once inside he heard Leo’s cries and ran up the stairs to his baby.

            At the sight of Draco, Leo’s cry shifted to the one that signified he wanted to be fed. Thus Draco didn’t get a chance to answer any of Harry’s or Dromeda’s questions about the date and instead took Leo into his room to feed. Nor did he get to hear the exciting news that Leo had said another word, or that his friend Regan had stopped by and that the Lestranges had finally been captured.

            It was getting late and Draco was home, so Dromeda left with Teddy. She would get the gossip from her nephew in the morning.

            Ron snuck in a few minutes later, silent and invisible as he entered the drawing room. He cleared his throat to let Harry know that he was there and ready to give his report on the evening.

            Harry jumped in surprise, but quickly realized it was Ron. Not wanting Draco to find out that Ron had been spying, Harry led his friend up to his room on the top floor. He locked the door and cast an extra muffliato spell, to ensure their privacy.

            “Well? How did it go?” Harry asked, sitting down on the bed.

            Ron plopped down next to him and riffled in the drawer of Harry’s bedside table for candy. He always knew just where to find Harry’s stash of sweets. He snagged a licorice whip and began to chew. He was starving, since he hadn’t been able to eat under the cloak at the restaurant, because that would’ve let people know he was there and defeat the purpose of the invisibility cloak.

            “I reckon you’ll be able to read about it tomorrow in the paper. Skeeter was there, angling for a story about Harry Potter’s baby daddy going out on a date with someone else,” Ron teased, his mouth still full of candy.

            “No way? The mad cow is interested in this?” Harry asked. He’d kept well and clear of Skeeter, preferably giving his interviews to Mr. Lovegood and making statements to everyone else _except_ for Skeeter.

            “Yep,” Ron confirmed with a nod. “There was a photographer there and everything. Draco said he was annoyed by it; said it was probably his father who tipped off the press. But he didn’t look annoyed; he looked pleased at the attention.”

            “Well don’t make me wait to read about it from Skeeter. What happened already?” Harry urged.

            “In the beginning I was worried they were going to start snogging and I was going to lose my lunch. Can you imagine the two of them kissing? And they’re both blokes!” Ron said this in a homophobic manner, punctuating it by stuffing his mouth with the head of a chocolate frog.

            Harry winced. “I don’t have a problem with them both being blokes,” he said through clenched teeth. He was already on edge from having to wait all of this time to find out how the date went and he was not in the mood to find out that his best friend had a problem with same-sex relationships. He hadn’t yet come out that he was bi, but he’d assumed Ron and Hermione would be alright with it. He’d given them a few hints on the subject during the war, which they had been fine with. He thought they might know or at least suspect, but he never thought they wouldn’t be okay with it. They were his two best friends. They had survived the war together. They should be able to get through anything together.

            Ron let out a huff of air and quickly amended his previous statement, “I don’t either, it’s just that it’s Malfoy, you know? In school I never thought he was like that. He was with Parkinson, wasn’t he?”

            “Yeah, but I’d be bent too if I’d had to look at Pansy Parkinson,” Harry joked.

            Ron laughed and Harry joined in, the tension ebbing out of the room.

            They settled down after a moment and Harry asked again, “So, how did it go?”

            Ron shrugged and answered, “Well, I guess.”

            “What happened? I need details.”

            “They spent a good deal of time talking about being gay in the wizarding world.”

            “And? What did they say?”

            “Er…”

            “Come on Ron.”

            “Well, Malfoy said he’s not going to be some submissive little wife who does what he is told. No surprise there.”

            “Nope,” Harry agreed.

            “I thought Malfoy was about to say he wanted to be in charge and rule the roost like his father, but instead he said he wants to be equals. Dane agreed to that.”

            The mention of Lucius reminded Harry of the visit he’d received earlier that night. “Oh that reminds me: the Lestranges have just been captured. Happened earlier, not long after we went home,” Harry said.

            “Seriously?”

            “Yep.”

            “When are they going to stop keeping us in the dark and let us know when they are planning stings like this?” Ron asked and Harry shrugged.

            “Don’t know. Maybe it’s best they keep it quiet; this way they don’t have to worry about it getting out and blowing the operation.”

            “Yeah I guess. But think, if something had happened, we weren’t there to help. You were at home with the kids and I was out spying on Malfoy.”

            “Yes, but I was home with my boys. Leo called me papa today. I wouldn’t have left that for more work.”

            “That’s really great Harry!” Ron replied.

            “Did you find out anything else during the date?” Harry asked.

            “Not really. They spent a lot of time telling each other about their lives and hobbies and shit. Dane has his work for Kingsley and Draco has Leo. It was all pretty boring.”

            “What about Leo?” Harry asked eagerly.

            “Nothing important, just that he’s devoted to his son. There was some pretentious bragging about how great the kid is. Dane asked to meet Leo and Malfoy said no, not yet.”

            That response pleased Harry, who didn’t want Dane meeting his son either. “So did they kiss a lot? They were kissing when they returned.”

            “No, not that I saw. They touched hands a few times across the table. That was about all that happened. They must’ve waited for the snogging until they got back here. I would too with Skeeter watching. Listen, I’m starving. I really need to eat something.”

            Harry nodded his understanding and let Ron go. He would pester Ron for more details at work tomorrow.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry’s birthday is coming up. I’m either going to do that or a second date with Dane next. Maybe both. I’m also thinking that Harry should start pulling away from Ginny, spending less time with her. Maybe she can pull away too. Any ideas of excuses either Harry or Ginny might have to get out of spending time with each other?
> 
> Please Review!


	18. Chapter18

            The next morning Draco was pleased, but not surprised to learn Leo had said Pa the night before. “He started saying it on Monday, while you were at work. I’ve been teaching him,” Draco explained, as he sat eating at the kitchen table. He and Harry were on opposite sides, both sitting at the end next to Leo’s highchair. They were taking turns feeding the baby. Draco had taken the first shift with the baby spoon, while Harry ate, reciting little rhymes to encourage Leo to eat. Harry had finished his eggs and bacon and had now mostly taken over Leo’s spoon from Draco.

            There were only two spoonfuls left in Leo’s bowl, but he was full, so most of Harry’s time was spent holding the spoon out in front of Leo’s mouth, while encouraging Leo to open his mouth and stop playing with the rubbery three-inch cube toy. Leo wasn’t normally allowed toys while eating, but this one had been waiting for him with Kevin in the kitchen when they woke up, Kevin having just arrived back from Austria with a letter and a gift from Narcissa. The cube promised to teach babies their colors and shapes when activated, by physically rotating through a large variety of them and audibly announcing its current state. They hadn’t activated it yet, so it remained in its original solid blue cube state, although it was still good to gnaw on.

            “Teaching him? You taught him my name?” Harry asked surprised. He was mostly ready for work, but was still waiting around for the morning paper, which hadn’t come. He wanted to read about Draco’s date while he was at work, which meant he couldn’t leave until it arrived, so that he could take it with him. Otherwise, he’d have to wait until after work to read it or buy a second paper. Plus Draco needed the chance to eat too and he still had fifteen minutes before he had to be at work.

            “Yes. Your friend Granger had the publisher send us an early copy. We started reading it last week.” When Harry still didn’t understand, Draco said, “Accio Harry Potter Saves the World.”

            A large, but thin, children’s book full of drawings of Harry zoomed into the room and fell into Draco’s outstretched hand. “We read it and I tell him that that is his PaPa saving us all.” He held the book out to Harry and Harry took it.

            After the war, all sorts of publishers approached Harry regarding writing books about him. He’d been about to turn them all down, when Hermione stepped in. She said that their account of what had happened had to be written down for the ages. The world would never learn from their mistakes unless said mistakes were recorded and remembered. Their victory was important and could not be relegated to the rubbish bin solely because he didn’t like all of the attention. And if they didn’t personally approve the books, then anyone could write whatever they wanted and the whole truth wouldn’t be printed. And since Harry’s seal of approval meant more copies would be sold, the publishers all wanted his input. She took charge and was in communication with every publisher who she’d told Harry to authorize books from, making it her responsibility to ensure the accuracy of said books.

            This was the first time Harry was seeing the new book about him. He had mixed feelings, because it felt like more unwanted publicity. But it also looked really cool and from flipping through the first few pages, he thought that it was a fair representation of the truth. It seemed heavily censored, with all of the blood, gore, killing, and torture removed, since it was a book for children. That was for the best, because he didn’t want Leo seeing all of that and Draco wouldn’t have read Leo a gory book. It was mostly about how it was wrong to divide and subjugate people based on blood purity and how one little boy had stood up against tyranny and taken down the most powerful dark wizard of all time.

            The main reason behind Draco’s actions was not that he wanted Leo to learn about tolerance and equality, although he did think that these things were important in the post-war world. He wanted Harry to spend more time with them and Leo was his best weapon in the fight against Ginny Weasley. Now that he was faced with another of his parents’ suitors, wooing Harry became even more important. Before he’d met Dane, he’d had a minor emotional breakdown, wondering why he had to bother and why Harry didn’t just dump Ginny and marry him already. Why did he have to court other people? That had led to the conclusion that Harry needed to spend more time at home and less time off gallivanting with Weasleys. And if he just had some way of getting Harry’s attention and asking Harry to stay, without having to put himself out there, then that would be perfect. Therefore he’d decided to teach Leo to say PaPa and rely on Leo asking for Harry, to achieve his goals. Now that Leo had learned, he could send owls off whenever Harry was with the Weasleys with the claim that Leo was asking for Harry.

            “Hermione told them to send this to you, not me first?” Harry asked.

            “Yes. She thought Leo and Teddy had a right to be the first to read it. I read it to both boys when I got it. Leo seemed to like it, so I read it to him a few more times. I’m not sure if he knows that you are the same PaPa I keep showing him in the book. Monday I thought he was just calling the book pa. If he asked for pa, he could have been asking you to read to him.” This wasn’t entirely true. He said it rather than admit that he’d sat down with the purpose of teaching his son to say Harry’s name.

            Harry groaned. He’d been so hopeful for a minute there, thinking that Draco was responsible for Leo knowing his name. _Wouldn’t that be something, if Draco really had taught Leo to say pa?_ Harry shook that thought off, because ultimately Draco was responsible for the achievement and whether it came from reading a book to the baby or sitting down purposefully trying to teach Leo, didn’t matter. And the fact that Draco was trying to teach Leo the pro-muggleborn story was even better, since it meant that Draco was trying to pass along love and understanding to their son, not the hatred Draco had been taught as a child.

            Draco, for his part, was still confused when it came to muggleborns. If given a test on muggles, he’d probably fail. If quizzed on the rights inherent to muggleborns, he’d struggle with the answers. He knew he didn’t like killing people, any people, even muggles, and he couldn’t stand torture, even if it was done to someone else by someone else and he was just expected to watch. For that matter, he didn’t like to know that it was being done elsewhere in the world to people he didn’t even know. He just didn’t have the stomach for it, much to his father’s dismay.

            “Well, thanks for reading this to him. It seems like a nice book,” Harry concluded and Draco nodded, since his mouth was full. “I’m a little surprised though. It’s very pro-muggleborn.”

            “Mmhmm,” Draco agreed, still eating.

            “Draco, what are you going to teach our son about muggles?”

            Draco swallow and cleared his palette with a sip of water, before answering, “I was going to let you cover that bit.” He knew that Harry knew the correct answers to questions regarding muggles and he wanted his son to learn from Harry. His mother and father’s hate was the one thing he did _not_ want to pass along to his son. Thus when the perfect book arrived by owl, he had given it a go, assured by a note from Granger that it met her approval. Granger was muggleborn and Harry’s best friend, so he thought he could trust her word on this subject.

            “What if he asks _you_? What will _you_ say?”

            “Go ask your PaPa. He knows all about muggles. I’ve never met one, so I am the wrong person to ask.”

            This was not the best response Harry could’ve hoped for, but given that this was Draco, it seemed to him that it was the best any reasonable person could expect. He felt like tackling Draco in a bear hug, he was so elated. He might’ve done it too, if Draco had been standing up, instead of sitting across from him at the table with a bowl full of cereal in between them. “Thank you. This means a lot to me,” he settled for saying.

            “I imagine I will be very pleased when Leo starts saying father too.” There Draco turned from Harry, towards Leo, and asked, “Did you hear that little lion? I expect my name to be next.”

            “That too, but I meant about the muggles,” Harry clarified.

            Draco didn’t know what to say to that, so he shrugged. He was saved from coming up with a more coherent response by the sound of hooting from an owl. He looked up to see the delivery owl with the morning paper. Harry noticed too and lowered the spoon filled with Leo’s uneaten mashed bananas back into the bowl, before leaping into the air and snagging the paper off of the bird’s leg.

            “Amooo,” Leo said around the blue cube still in his mouth.

            “Leo! Take your toys out of your mouth _before_ you speak,” Draco chastised.

            Harry handed over an owl treat, which the delivery owl took, before taking off out the window. Then he sat down with the paper, scanning the articles on the front page and coming up with nothing of interest. The front page was dedicated to the Lestranges. The main article was on the capture and included interviews with the Aurors involved. No one seemed to mention that it was Draco who had given the Aurors the tip in the first place, which made Harry scowl. He thought Draco deserved a good portion of the credit, because without that tip off, it would’ve taken much longer to find Rabastan and Renaldo.

            Harry turned the page and came face to face with a photo of Draco and Dane, who had made the third page of the Prophet. The picture above the article showed the pair dancing. Ron hadn’t mentioned that. Harry fixated on the image they made cutting across the dance floor. Dane was taller and had his arms around Draco, but Draco’s back was straight and proud and he appeared to be the one leading. It was an intriguing snippet of a side of Draco Harry didn’t get to see; Draco was a fit, handsome, attractive, confident bloke. The dancing was formal, but it was a salsa, so at the same time it was intimate and sexual. It turned Harry on and made him mad at the same time. He kept thinking that it should’ve been him in Draco’s arms dancing like that and then he kept kicking himself, telling himself he wasn’t supposed to be thinking that. He was with Ginny and it was okay for Draco to dance with Dane. If only he could convince himself of that.

            Draco glanced up from his bowl of cereal and gasped upon seeing the front page of the paper. He jumped up, grabbed it out of Harry’s hands, and exclaimed, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

            Harry was momentarily confused. Why should he tell Draco about the dancing, when Draco was the one who’d been there? “Huh?”

            “My uncle Rabastan has been captured! And Renaldo too? His sister Regan is one of my good friends. Does she know? You should have warned me you were going to act, you arse! I need to go to her! She’s probably distraught,” Draco said.

            “What are you talking about?” Harry asked.

            Draco turned the newspaper so that Harry could see the article on the Lestranges. “This.”

            “Oh that. By the way, the Lestranges were captured yesterday evening. Your friend Regan stopped by looking for you.”

            “Regan stopped by? Why? I have to go to her. We’ve been friends for _ages_.”

            “She just wanted help with the kids. She had four of them; said they were her sister’s kids.  
            “Well Rikkard is her own, but the other three are her sister’s.”

            “Right, so I need to get going. Hand me back my paper so I can look at it during my break,” Harry stood, with his hand outreached.

            “But I need to read this. I need to go over to Wiltshire today and see how she’s doing. I wanted to prepare her for this in advance, instead of it just getting sprung at us like this.”

            “Tell you what, the Lestranges are on the front page. You can take that, just give me the rest of the paper,” Harry compromised.

            Draco acquiesced and it was done. Harry tucked his share of the paper into his rucksack and kissed Leo’s head of tangled black hair. Then he looked to Draco.

            “Do come home early. I may need you to watch Leo,” Draco said.

            Harry groaned, but agreed. He’d already blown Ginny off last night. Now he’d have to forgo a second night with her. He hoped she’d understand, but something told him that she wouldn’t.

            At work, Harry had hoped he would be able to get more information about Dane and Draco’s date. He had the paper, but it took him ages to find the time to read it. He had a witness, in the form of Ron, but Ron was busy working the Lestrange case. Harry was supposed to be working it too, which interfered with his Draco obsession. Somehow the new Aurors always got the short end of the stick; they weren’t often included on raids, but there was always enough paperwork to share.

            Harry squirreled himself away in a corner during lunch to read the paper, since he’d already tried asking Ron for more details and gotten more of the same. While he was doing so, Kevin the owl arrived with a message from Draco. Draco and Leo were apparently spending the morning in Wiltshire with Regan and Draco had promised her they would go together to the Ministry Holding Facility tonight to visit her brother Renaldo. Thus Draco officially wanted Harry to babysit.

            Thinking that Ginny would be angrier about being blown off by owl than she would in person, Harry apparated over to the Burrow. With only fifteen minutes left of his lunch break, he would have to make it quick, but that had the advantage of putting a time limit to this visit, preventing it being drawn out into a long argument.

            Molly was in the living room knitting when Harry arrived. “Oh Harry, it’s you dear! You gave me a bit of a fright!” she exclaimed.

            “Er, sorry. Where’s Ginny? Something has come up with Draco. I need to watch Leo, so I have to cancel on her for tonight,” Harry replied.

            “In her room. She’s still asleep in bed,” Molly answered.

            Harry nodded and murmured his thanks, before heading up the stairs. Ginny was indeed in bed, her long red hair fanned out across the pillow. She had a bit of drool dripping out the corner of her mouth and was snoring lightly. This worried Harry, because there was a chance she would be mad about being woken up. But he only had fifteen minutes before he had to be back at work and he didn’t fancy returning after work, just to let her know he couldn’t stay.

            “Gin. Hey Gin, can you wake up?” Harry asked.

            Ginny yawned and blinked open her eyes, before shutting them firmly against the noonday light pouring in from the window. “Hmm?” she muttered, turning over and putting her back to the sun. Now she was facing Harry directly.

            “Gin, it’s me Harry. I only have a few minutes before I have to get back to work.”

            “Why are you here? I’m sleeping.” Ginny had been up all night partying and drinking with her friends. She wouldn’t have slept much longer on her own, but she was still just waking up.

            “I can’t go with you tonight. I’m sorry. Something has come up. The Ministry has captured the Lestranges. Can we go shopping tomorrow night instead?”

            They had planned on taking a trip together to Diagon Alley this evening. Her Hogwarts letter had finally come, so she needed school supplies. And it was his birthday party this weekend, so she also needed a present for him. Plus they had a list of party supplies that were needed for the humongous event that was being planned in his honor. So many people were invited that making Molly do it all on her own was just not feasible. They had agreed to help out by doing some of the shopping. Plus, there were restaurants in Diagon Alley, so they could make a date of it and have a bite to eat. However, now Harry couldn’t go.

            “No. Tomorrow I arranged to go shopping in muggle London with those two muggle girls I met. I wanted to get you some things for your birthday,” Ginny said groggily. In fact she planned on using his money to buy him a new muggle wardrobe, so that the Dudley hand-me-downs could once and for all be thrown out entirely. It was going to be a surprise, which was why she hadn’t told Harry. He had already made a good start towards this aim at the end of the war, when they’d gone shopping for new wizarding clothes. But, he had yet to buy anything muggle and he did love to lounge around in muggle attire.

            “But I thought we were shopping in Diagon Alley for my birthday?”

            “I want to do both.”

            “Well I can’t go tonight. Can we put it off?”

            “Your party is Saturday and it’s already Wednesday.” Friday they would be too busy preparing for the giant bash and Thursday she already had plans. It was tonight or she would only have the clothes for Harry come the night of the party.

            Harry’s actual birthday wasn’t until the Friday after this coming Friday, but they had settled on having the party six days early. Having it early worked for everyone involved. It worked for George, who was planning the entertainment, because he was going to another Ministry Gala the weekend after Harry’s birthday and he needed time to prepare for that too. It worked for Ginny, because her best friend, Alice Tolipan, had other plans with her boyfriend Shane Nelson and his family for the Saturday after Harry’s actual birthday. They couldn’t have Harry’s birthday party without Ginny’s friends, so that Saturday was out. And finally Draco had suggested other, more interesting sounding plans, with just Draco and the boys, for the Friday of Harry’s actual birthday. Harry wanted to spend his birthday with Draco, so he’d readily agreed to the suggestion of having his party early.

            “You don’t have to get me anything, Gin, I don’t mind,” Harry said. He was used to not getting much on his birthday and last year he’d gotten more than ever before. “We can go later to pick up your Hogwarts supplies. You have weeks left before the start of term.”

            “But I want to. I’ve been planning it for ages and Mum still needs us to pick up the supplies for the party.” There was a whining note to Ginny’s voice, like a kicked crup who wasn’t getting her way.

            “Is there anyone else you could get to go with you? I really can’t make it tonight, Gin. And I can’t stay much longer. I have to be getting back to work. I just wanted to tell you in person, so that you would know how sorry I am to cancel on you like this.”

            “Maybe I can ask Sydney,” Ginny said. Odds were that Sydney was hanging out with her boyfriend Kellen. Sydney would probably go, as long as she could bring Kellen and chances were than Kellen would want to bring his younger brother Ellard.

            “Great! You do that. I’ll see you Friday to help with the party,” Harry said, bending down to give Ginny a kiss on the forehead before he left.

            Harry ran into Molly again on his way out.

            Molly had been trying in vain for ages to get Leo over to the Burrow for a visit so that she could meet the baby. She took this as her opportunity to get her way. “Harry dear, how about I come over tonight and help you with Leo?” she volunteered. “I’ve already agreed to watch Teddy for Dromeda tonight. We could make a playdate of it.”

            “You have Teddy tonight?”

            “Yes. Dromeda has plans to visit with some friends. Even doting grandmothers need a break every now and then.”

            “Yeah, alright!” Harry jumped at the offer. Leo was after all teething and the process of that first tooth breaking the surface made him fussier and whinier than usual. Therefore help didn’t seem like a bad idea.

            Harry went back to work. Over paperwork, he informed Ron of what was going on. Ron was typically stuck on Ginny’s side of the argument, but Molly breaking through the Malfoy barriers to meet Harry’s son was the perfect excuse for Ron to tag along and meet Leo too. Thus Ron announced he would be there as well.

            The rest of the afternoon was fairly normal. It wasn’t until Harry and Ron flooed home at the end of the day when his life took another unusual twist. Not only was Molly Weasley already there with Teddy, but so too were George Weasley, Angelina Johnson, and Regan Greengrass. Regan was at least minus the four kids this time.

            “Er, what’s going on?” Harry asked George.

            “Angelina and I are going to help Malfoy and Greengrass,” George answered.

            “Why?” Harry asked.

            “As a favor to her brother. He’s married to Kingsley’s niece, whose brother is courting Malfoy. Dane is meeting us there. He doesn’t want his boyfriend making a scene and getting arrested,” George explained. “Would interfere with public opinions, it would.”

            Harry wasn’t too pleased that Dane was muscling in on their lives again, but someone had to stay with Leo and it was a good idea for someone else to watch Draco. Thus Harry nodded and then went to retrieve Leo from Angelina, who had as usual, commandeered the baby for herself. She cooed a few more words at Leo in baby-talk. Next Draco came over and hugged and kissed Leo. And then the congregation in the drawing room started flooing off to the Ministry, leaving Harry, Ron, and Molly behind with the two babies.

            Things with the babies were still awkward with Ginny, but Molly loved babies. She didn’t think that the strained relationship with the Malfoys should mean that Leo should suffer. Leo was Harry’s baby and Harry was as good as her son, which made Leo her grandson in her eyes. Thus she was eager to help and glad that George and Ron had also taken the opportunity to come over and meet the baby.

            Leo’s first tooth had finally broken the surface of his lower gum, so he was back to his usual happy spirits. He was scared of the tall and imposing Ron at first, but seemed to warm up to Ron as the night wore on. It seemed to help that Teddy loved Ron and giggled at almost everything Ron said or did. Molly, on the other hand, was unimposing and Leo took an instant liking to her. By the end of the night, Molly had accomplished her goal of playing grandmother to Leo.

            Draco and George came back two hours later, Angelina having gone with Regan to see the other witch home. Dane didn’t follow any of them, which pleased Harry, instead staying at the Ministry. As usual, Draco took Leo and retreated to his room. Teddy had just been fed and was ready to be put down for bed. Not wanting the baby to be moved in the middle of the night, Molly took her leave, in order to put Teddy down to sleep in his own crib back at the Tonks’ place.

            Now it was only Ron, George, and Harry left in the drawing room.

            “What happened?” Ron asked George.

            “They saw the Lestranges. Regan was pretty upset by the state Renaldo was in. Dane was there and as Shacklebolt’s nephew, he had a bit of influence. He ordered that Renaldo’s wounds be treated. Regan and Malfoy wanted to speak to Rabastan alone, so Dane arranged for them to all go into an interview room. While that was going on, this lawyer bloke Draco had called showed up. One of those fat pompous pureblood types by the name of Perks. Perks insisted on seeing Renaldo and then went into the interview room with Rabastan.

            “After half an hour, the rest of us were called into the room with Rabastan,” George continued. “Draco and Regan said they wanted the Lestranges to receive fair deals, with emphasis on getting Renaldo a reduced sentence. According to them, Rabastan was the sidekick and Renaldo only the errand boy. Rodolphus and Bellatrix were the ones in charge of their little unit and they are both dead. They were putting _all_ of the blame on Rodolphus and Bellatrix.”

            “No surprise there. Blame the dead and all,” Harry put in.

            “Nope,” Ron agreed.

            “Well Perks promised to do his best to ensure fair trials and try to get them off. From there they called in one of the nightshift Aurors to take a statement. It wasn’t a confession or anything, but a demand that Renaldo continue to receive proper medical care and that the pair receive humane treatment. Basically the usual lawyer bullshite. When we left, Perks was in a private room with Rabastan, working out their case,” George explained.

            “Is that everything then? Draco and Regan didn’t cause a scene or anything?” Harry asked, fearing that Draco might be in the paper for the second day in a row. He was also concerned that Dane was spending more time with Draco, which was not something he wanted. But, he also didn’t want to let George and Ron know that this was something that bothered him, so he kept mum on that.

            “Well there was something about the time the Malfoys were attacked in Diagon Alley with the fruit. While they had Malfoy in there, Dane and a prosecutor took him aside to talk about the case. It’s a good thing I had my extendable ears with me, or I wouldn’t have been able to eavesdrop. The prosecutor said that they were in the process of making a deal with each of the two attackers. The witches will agree to plead guilty, in exchange for probation and a fine. Malfoy was worried that that wasn’t good enough, because the witches hadn’t learned anything. They might attack him again. Dane suggested ordering the witches to take a class on violence and how it affects the victims. The prosecutor said he’d add that into the deal and Malfoy agreed to it. So it seems the whole thing will be settled without a trial and the Malfoys won’t have to testify,” George concluded.

            “Yeah, I’d like to see Leo testify. Mr. Leo Malfoy, is this the woman who attacked you? Gooo,” Ron joked.

            Harry and George joined in the laughter.

 

* * *

 

            Harry didn’t see Ginny again until Friday evening, when they went shopping for supplies for his party, which was to occur the following day. Ginny had indeed spent Wednesday night out on the town with her friends Sydney, Kellen, and Ellard. She had a lot of fun and didn’t much find herself thinking about Harry, despite the fact that the purpose of the outing was to find the perfect gift for her boyfriend. She spent a good deal of time flirting with Ellard, but she didn’t tell Harry that.

            “Kellen invited us all to his parent’s place in France. We just _have_ to go Harry!” Ginny exclaimed as they were picking out large quantities of disposable plates, cups, napkins, and utensils. “Sydney is coming, so it’ll be like a double date. Imagine how romantic the south of France will be!”

            Where Ellard would be during this double date was not mentioned. Likely he’d be hanging around as a fifth wheel, unless he found a date. Ginny was secretly hoping that Ellard wouldn’t find a date, because she liked Ellard and wanted his attention for herself. But she wanted Harry more and she didn’t want Ellard there interfering with that, so part of her was hoping Ellard wouldn’t come at all.

            “When?” Harry asked. If it was for a short period, like a Friday night and they leave the next morning, he could probably arrange to go. Not that this trip at all appealed to him. For some reason a romantic holiday with his finance was not on the top of his list of things he wanted to do. But, if it made Ginny happy, he might go along with it.

            “This Sunday. He offered that we could stay the whole week, but I didn’t think you’d be able to take a week off from work, so we would stay through Monday. You can get one day off for your birthday, can’t you?”

            Technically Harry was already taking next Friday off for his birthday to spend with Draco. But mentioning that would probably upset Ginny, so he kept it to himself. “This isn’t a good time Gin and this isn’t nearly enough warning.”

            “But Harry, it’s the south of France! We have to go! And it’s for your birthday! Don’t you want to go for your birthday?”

            Harry did not in fact want to go anywhere with Ginny for his birthday. He wanted to spend the day with Draco and his boys, but he also didn’t want to start a fight with Ginny by telling her that. “We already have the party planned and everyone is coming. We are going to be hungover and sleep through half of Sunday. And I can’t take Monday off on such short notice. This just isn’t a good time Gin.” He left out that he had other responsibilities besides work, such as Leo, Teddy, and Draco. Maybe they could get by without him, but he didn’t want them too. He wanted to be there if Leo was in pain from teething again. He wanted to spend more time with Teddy. And he wanted to be kept in the loop regarding what was happening between Dane and Draco.

            “But Kellen said that this is the only week he _can_ do it. There’s only a month left until Sydney and I go back to school,” Ginny reasoned, leaving out the exact reasons why the other weeks didn’t work.

            Ginny’s own birthday was in two weeks and for it, Harry had promised to take her to the last Ministry Gala of the summer. Plus Sydney had a family reunion in two weeks, while Kellen and Ellard needed to spend the last two weeks of summer helping their parents officially move back into their house in England. Thus there was only one week free and that was to be booked up with Quidditch camp.

            Ellard was the first to sign up for the one week Quidditch full day camp, since he was hoping to join the Ravenclaw team this year and needed the practice. Ginny lamented that it was expensive and her parents had never been able to afford to send her. Her Hogwarts letter had finally come, so she was officially the new Gryffindor Quidditch captain and eager to start training again. In fact, she thought the remainder of Harry’s old team should get together over the summer to start shaping up, since they’d gone without the sport altogether during the war. Stupid Voldemort eliminating the school’s sports program.

            But although the camp was too expensive for Ginny to afford for herself, she thought she might be able to manage it as a gift for Harry, if George would chip in. Harry loved Quidditch and flying in general and with the war and work, he hadn’t been able to fly in ages. At this point, Harry didn’t even have his own broom, since his Firebolt was destroyed in the Battle of the Seven Potters. But she happened to know that Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnegan, and Dean Thomas were planning on pitching in together to buy Harry a new broom. Thus a week of Quidditch camp was the perfect gift.

            With George conveniently located in the joke shop in Diagon Alley, Ginny was able to make a quick stop over to discuss the idea with him. George had agreed and Ginny had purchased the ticket. With Harry’s gift taken care of, she’d proceeded to spend the rest of the night having a blast with her friends. She didn’t know Harry well enough to realize that he wouldn’t want to go. She didn’t even understand why he wasn’t jumping at the two days in France.

            “But I have responsibilities, I can’t just pack up and leave at a moment’s notice.” And then the perfect solution regarding the trip suddenly occurred to Harry. “You should go to France without me. You should go with Sydney and have fun. I want you to enjoy your summer vacation. It’s the last one you’ll get before you have to grow up. You shouldn’t have to wait around on me.”

            “But I wanted to go _with_ you, Harry.”

            “I know and I would go with you, if I could. But I can’t, so you should go have fun without me. That’s what I want for my birthday.”

            Ginny looked Harry in the eyes and saw nothing but sincerity. She thus flung her arms around him, producing an, “Oof,” sound from Harry, and kissed him on the lips. She still assumed that he would love the Quidditch camp and would be able to take the week off for that.

            Harry didn’t enjoy the kiss as much as he once had, but he returned it and was happy that Ginny was agreeing to go without him. With that settled, they returned to the task of purchasing party supplies. 

 

* * *

 

 

            Everyone went all out on a wild adult party for Harry at the Burrow, of course. There was to be whiz-bangs, Butterbeer, dancing, and everything else young people loved. They invited practically every young person they knew, except Draco and the Slytherins, and set up a dance floor with loud music. Luna added floating streamers of dirigible plums for decoration and Ginny charmed the confetti to continuously fall. It was quite the event.

            If Harry was honest with himself, the party wasn’t all that much fun. He was dragged around by Ginny all night playing the role of the perfect fiancé, when all he could think about were the three people he wanted to be there, but couldn’t be: Draco, Leo, and Teddy. Draco and Leo wouldn’t come, because this was the Weasley side of his life and the two sides didn’t mix. Teddy couldn’t come, because he was too little.

            As for the presents, a lot of it was juvenile stuff he no longer had much use for. The broom was nice, but no longer held quite the excitement a new broom once had. The muggle clothes Ginny bought for him were his absolute favorite present, although he was fully aware that she’d used his own money for them; the gift was buying them for him, so that he didn’t have to go through the ordeal of picking clothes and going shopping in crowded muggle London.

            As for the Quidditch camp, Harry didn’t have time for it, just like he didn’t have time for France. He had Auror training and his boys to think about. Ginny looked very excited and envious about the trip and he had the bright idea to send her in his place. It was, after all, the week of her seventeenth birthday and she was the new Quidditch captain. He told her he would consider it a great favor if she would go in his place and have fun without him. And like the trip to France, she agreed to go. Neither of them seemed to notice that this arrangement meant that they would see very little of each other in the next two weeks, after just having spent most of the last week apart.

            After the gifts and cake, Harry danced with Ginny, drank with their friends, and watched George’s awesome entertainment with her at his side. At the end of the night, he flooed home to his own bed, leaving Ginny behind. The party was more of something he had to do than what he wanted to do. He was glad when it was over, even though it left him feeling like road kill the next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that covers the party and getting rid of Ginny for a while. Up next will be some additional stuff leading up to Draco and Dane’s second date. Then there will be Harry’s actual birthday with Draco.  
> Please review!


	19. Chapter19

            Draco, what are you doing?” Harry asked curiously. After his wild birthday party, he’d slept late. From the looks of things, he’d already missed breakfast and lunch, and Draco had moved on to sorting photographs. That was probably a good idea, considering the number of pictures they took during the average week, both of Teddy and Leo. Harry himself had a stack of rolls of film that still needed developing. In the back of his mind, he knew he should follow Draco’s lead and work on his own growing photo collection, but he was more interested in seeing Draco’s.

            “Looking for photos of me. Dane and I have our second date coming up next week and he asked to see some,” Draco replied, glancing up at Harry before returning to his work. There was a lot of sorting to be done, because he hadn’t sorted the photos as he got them. Instead he’d ordered a house elf to develop them and store them in large photo boxes. Most of these photos were of Leo, but there were some of himself as well.

            “Of you? Not Leo?” Harry sat down and motioned towards a stack Draco had already gone through, silently asking if he could look. When Draco gave a slight nod, he picked them up and started going through the photos. From what he could see, these were mostly of their son.

            “Of me pregnant with Leo, of me with Leo, of me as a baby, of me as a small child, et cetera… Mother sent those.” As Draco spoke, he scanned the piles of photos, before pointing to a small stack.

            Harry set down the stack he’d picked up initially in favor of the small stack from Narcissa. It contained photos of a pointy-faced blond baby, who grew into an adorable blond toddler, before progressing into a young child, who was obviously Draco. There were five photos in all, with the last two showing Draco as an older child and then as a teenager in his Hogwarts robes. After looking at each photo carefully, Harry flipped back to the toddler. A very young Draco was holding a cup of pumpkin juice, which was spilling, as he ran around giggling, wearing nothing more than a nappy. “This is you?”

            “Mmhmm,” Draco agreed absentmindedly, already hard at work examining more photos.

            It was then that Harry noticed that someone was missing; not in the photos, but from the here and now. “Where’s Leo?”

            “Aunt Andromeda’s house. Mother arrived yesterday. We spent all last evening and this morning with her; she missed us. But during lunch I grew tired of hearing about my father. And I needed the time to sort through these, without risking Leo putting them in his mouth.”

            “What about your father?” Harry asked, not quite catching Draco’s meaning.

            “My mother has one and only one flaw: she is desperately in love with my father. The sun, the moon, and the stars rise and set on him. She probably worships his farts.”

            Harry was momentarily shocked. “I take it you and your father aren’t getting along.” Hearing Draco disparage Lucius was so different from how Draco had idolized his father during school.

            “No, we aren’t. His presence is probably my biggest objection to staying with Mother in Austria. That is why I came back.”

            “Er, if you don’t mind my asking, what did he do?”

            “His typical holier than thou crap. I simply wizened up to it. The Dark Lord will do that to a wizard.”

            “Well I’m glad.”

            “You’re glad the Dark Lord destroyed my child-like idolization of the wizard who raised me and taught me almost everything I know?” Draco asked.

            “Yes. No offense, but your father has always been an arse. I’m glad you see it now. But, what I don’t understand is, what made you finally see the light? You were always so devoted to him.”

            “It’s like I said: it’s hard to idolize someone who worships someone like the Dark Lord. It’s hard to respect a wizard who shows so little respect for others. And his attitude towards my son is just intolerable.”

            “He dislikes Leo then? Did he ever hurt him?” Harry asked anxiously. He would track Lucius down and make the wizard pay if Lucius had laid a hand on _his_ baby.

            “Not quite, and no. When Leo is there, he acts the proper grandfather. He’s never hurt Leo or done anything to harm him. It’s more the way he talks about Leo and that he won’t just make Leo his official heir already. He objects to Leo’s existence in the first place and blames me for following his lord’s orders. He’s infuriating.”

            Harry had overheard enough of the conversation in the fire for this to sound familiar. Lucius hadn’t said anything horrible, but the wizard had made it clear that he disapproved of Draco being an un-wed father. But Harry didn’t know what he could possibly say about this subject, without giving away that he’d been spying. Draco had said Lucius hadn’t actually _done_ anything to Leo, only said things about Leo to Draco. And given that Lucius wasn’t currently in the country or trying to see Leo, there didn’t seem to be anything to do about it. Thus Harry changed the subject. “Oh, so why didn’t your mum come here?”

            “She did. She spent the night. We had dinner in the dining room. The actual dining room, not the kitchen; I had the elves clean it out. Then we went to my aunt’s for breakfast. I came back here just after lunch.”

            “Why is she visiting today? Why hasn’t she come before?” Harry asked.

            “We knew you would be away for your party. She was trying to stay away from you and the other Aurors, in case the Ministry tries to go after her.”

            “And your father?”

            “Definitely not willing to risk Azkaban to visit his only grandchild. He stayed at the cottage.”

            Neither of them knew what would happen if Lucius Malfoy showed his face on British soil. There were those that thought life sentences in Azkaban should be honored, despite the war. Many others, however, believed that Minister Thicknesse’s pardons should be honored, despite the fact that he was Voldemort’s puppet. Laws could be put back to rights, but relocking up freed criminals was a different matter. It fell under the intersection of double jeopardy with ex post facto. Throwing those laws out to return pardoned Death Eaters to Azkaban was a slippery slope and nasty business.

            When it came down to it, there were very few Death Eaters pardoned by Thicknesse who were still alive, Lucius Malfoy and Rabastan Lestrange being two of them. And for all but one of them, there was evidence of additional crimes of war being committed after the pardons. That was why Voldemort had had them freed in the first place; to carry out his evil work. The lone exception was Lucius Malfoy, who was wandless and secretly protecting Harry’s son during the war. Thus the entire debate came down to what to do with a wizard who was out of the country and currently untouchable. Until Lucius’ return, the debating would no doubt continue _ad infinitum_.

            Harry was glad he wasn’t in politics and didn’t have to worry about issues like this. It was a difficult subject and he didn’t want to get into it right now. Thus a change in subject was in order. “Right, well I’d like to look at your photos. You know, see what Leo was like before.”

            “Go right ahead. He was born on the second of February, so I’d start there.” Here Draco motioned to a box filled with neatly aligned photos. “Those ones I did first. They’re all in chronological order.”

            Harry nodded and quickly found the photos of Leo’s birth. There were many of Draco holding their son, looking rumpled and exhausted, but ecstatic and smiling anyway. Leo was small; much smaller than he was the first time Harry had seen him. The baby’s skin appeared purple in the first photos. Then there was a photo showing the red blood being washed off to reveal sickly blue skin, wrinkly from months in a fluid filled environment. There were bits of a white waxy substance in the nostrils, cracks of the eyes, and more obviously in the sparse coal black tufts of hair. The fingers were long and thin, clutched in anger and the mouth wailed silently, the folds around the face turning a more normal pink color.

            Leo’s face was red in anger before he was deposited back in Draco’s arms. Then the crying stopped and a peaceful expression appeared as Draco tugged on a nappy and little blue gown. It struck Harry how small Leo was in Draco’s arms, similar in size to Teddy, the very first time Harry held his godson.

            Then in the next picture Leo’s eyes were open, revealing dark grey irises. The next one showed Leo and Draco were sound asleep, the baby lying on his father’s chest. Leo’s head was facing away from the camera, showing just how few of the short strands of black hair there were on his head, the bits of white left over from the birth practically overshadowing the black. Harry got the impression that time passed between that photo and the previous one, the skin color having turned a healthier looking pink being the most obvious sign.

            “I missed all of this,” Harry said, examining a look of pride and admiration on Draco’s face in the following photo; Draco was looking at Leo in the way that only a mother can look at a child. Harry had been hunting Horcruxes at the time, which was something he knew he needed to do, but that didn’t stop him from feeling that he’d missed something very important. He wouldn’t miss something this big again.

            “Mmhhm,” Draco agreed, not looking up.

            After looking through each photo in the February section, Harry put them back and went to grab another section. He meant to go forward to the next month, but instead, he went backwards, to January. Only a wizard would order the photos in a box from front to back chronologically, instead of the typical back to front employed by the muggles. In these pictures Draco was clearly heavily pregnant and ready to burst any day.

            “Here’s one of you pregnant,” Harry offered the photo out to Draco, since Dane had requested one of Draco pregnant.

            “Uck, Harry! I can’t use that one. Burn it.”

            “What? No, why? I think it’s nice.” That was Harry’s baby in Draco’s tummy and there was some sort of intrinsic happiness with looking at someone knocked up with one’s baby. It made Harry feel strong and virile.

            “Nice? I looked like the giant squid! I was so _fat_ then. I’m not showing that picture to anybody. In fact, give it here, so that I can burn it.”

            “No.”

            “What? It’s _my_ photo! Hand it over.”

            “But that’s _my_ baby in your belly. I like it. I want to keep it.”

            “Fine, but if you ever show it to _anyone_ , including a Weasley or a Granger, then you will have to face my wrath. Vengeance will be fast and swift.” That threat was all air. There wasn’t much Draco could do to Harry Potter, Savior and Hero to all. But the one thing he could do was leave and take Leo with him. He was fairly certain Harry would be furious if he tried that, so he made sure never to mention it, less Harry start planning how to prevent it. He would let Harry think that watching for a curse to the back was the only course of action needed.

            Harry promised, before carefully tucking the photo into a box of keepsakes on the bookshelf. Then he went back to the stack, to see more pictures of Draco pregnant. “How are you going to find a picture to give Dane where you are not allegedly fat, when you were pregnant?”

            “I’ve already found the stack I want to use for that, but I haven’t decided on the right one. This one here is good, but my shirt and vest are all rolled up over my belly. But in these other ones where my shirt is straight, it’s hard to tell that I’m even pregnant.” As Draco spoke, he showed Harry a few photos. In them, Draco was about three months pregnant and his belly was just beginning to swell. The misaligned shirt showed the entire lower half of Draco’s swelling abdomen. It was probably the hottest thing Harry had ever seen.

            Harry gave a non-committal shrug and turned back to the box of pictures, because he couldn’t keep looking at that one of Draco without getting the urge to wank. Even without continuing to look, he was having trouble with the erection growing in his pants. He tried to will it away, but he was horny and these photos turned him on. And somehow the fact that Leo wasn’t in the house made the attraction stronger. Add to that the fact that he’d been avoiding sexual activity with Ginny lately and that he was in need of a release.

            There were many more photos of Draco pregnant. Harry was about to skip ahead to the March section, but then one of the photos in the before birth section caught his eye. He pulled it out and examined it. It was a party of some sort, the picture filled with witches and baby stuff. It was obviously Malfoy Manor, but with the oddest pastel streamers and charmed storks hanging from the ceiling. In the center of the room was an ancient wooden basinet set up with brand new lacey yellow lion-themed linens. Curious, Harry pulled out that bunch and began flipping through them.

            “What are these?” Harry asked, settling on a photo with Bellatrix Lestrange and a baby pram. She made the typical mother-pushing a baby pose, but instead of coming off motherly, it came off deranged.

            “Huh?” Draco looked over, before answering, “Pictures from the baby shower.”

            “Whose baby shower?”

            “Mine. They bought me things for Leo.”

            “And did someone give you the pram in this picture?”

            “Ah, yes.”

            “Well where is it now?” Harry asked. If Draco had a pram all of this time, why didn’t he use it?

            “Burned.”

            “Why?”

            “My Aunt Bellatrix. She’s the one who gave it to me.”

            “Your crazy aunt gave you a pram and then burned it?”

            “No, the house elves burn what was left of it. My aunt just ran around the Manor with it, screeching and cackling like a mad woman. Then she decided to use it for target practice. Her bombardment charm never was quite right, but sadly destroying the pram didn’t improve her technique. After several tries, my mother instructed the elves to burn the remains,” Draco explained.

            “Was this before or after Leo was born?”

            “Both. It started before and the pram wasn’t fully destroyed until the day after.”

            “No wonder you hate prams, Draco! Why didn’t you tell me? This explains everything!” Harry wouldn’t feel comfortable using a pram given to him by Bellatrix Lestrange either. And then after Bellatrix damage the thing beyond repair, Harry could understand Draco not wanting to use a new one. Because of what his aunt did, Draco didn’t feel like his son was safe in a pram. Thus Draco’s preference to hold Leo himself.

            Draco shrugged and they continued on looking at photos in silence. He didn’t like to think about his aunt or the time he was forced to spend with the other Death Eaters.

            Draco was organizing as he went, while Harry was just looking and putting them back. It was fascinating for Harry to see what happened while he was off fighting the war. Leo changed so much in those first four months before Harry knew the baby.

            They barely got through half of the photos before Draco looked up at the clock on the wall and announced, “Look at the time! We better get going, so that I can get back to Leo.”

            “Huh? What?” Harry said, returning a photo of a very tiny Leo giggling in Lucius’ arms back when they lived in Malfoy Manor. Lucius, it seemed, wasn’t all bad with the baby. In fact, there were many of Lucius and Leo; Lucius holding, burping, changing, bathing, rocking, and playing with his grandson. So many that if Draco hadn’t said otherwise, Harry would’ve assumed Lucius was the perfect grandfather.

            “We have to go shopping! Swimsuits, for your birthday. Don’t you remember?” As Draco spoke, he packed the photos back away into their boxes.

            “Oh yeah,” Harry agreed, suddenly remembering that he’d agreed to take Draco shopping today. He’d assumed Leo would be going with them and if the baby was going, they’d need protection. Now that Leo wasn’t present, he wasn’t sure whether or not Draco still needed supervision. But, he had given his word, he wasn’t doing anything, and he didn’t mind spending the time with Draco, so he had no problem going. The fact that he’d summoned a hangover potion before getting out of bed this afternoon was definitely helping.

            “Eh, I need to take a bottle to Leo before we go. I need fifteen minutes,” Draco said, standing up and heading towards the door. He waited for Harry to nod, before disappearing up the stairs.

            Draco came back down with a bottle in hand less than ten minutes later and flooed to Andromeda’s. Harry was under the impression that Draco had wanted him to stay put and that Draco would return to Grimmauld Place shortly. But the lure of Dromeda’s house, with Teddy, Leo, and the mysterious Narcissa Malfoy was too great. He followed Draco through the floo.

            Harry emerged from the fireplace almost on top of Draco. If they were any closer, he would’ve knocked Draco down. As it was, he grabbed onto Draco to steady himself. As he caught his balance, he realized with some embarrassment that he had one arm around Draco’s middle and the other on Draco’s shoulder. He then took a step back and extracted his limbs into a more appropriate position.

            Narcissa cleared her throat and said, “Mr. Potter. I did not know to expect the pleasure of your company today. Happy birthday.” She was sitting on Andromeda’s sofa with Teddy in the crook of one arm and Leo by her side, a children’s book in her hands.

            “Er, thanks, but that’s not ‘til Friday,” Harry replied.

            “PaPa, you were supposed to wait for me there,” Draco said with a scowl for Harry, but he was all smiles when he looked to the people gathered on the sofa. “Mother, I just came to drop off a bottle for Leo. I trust he will take it from you; he refuses from me,” Draco said, holding out the bottle of breast milk.

            “Just set it down there, dear.” Narcissa motioned with her sharp chin towards an end table with a lamp. “Will your young man be staying long?” she asked.

            “No, we’re going shopping. We will be back in an hour or two. Leo has been alright without me?” Draco asked, looking intently at his baby.

            “Leo has been just fine, haven’t you Lion?” Narcissa asked the baby.

            “Pa! Pa pa da,” Leo said, reaching out for Draco. His eyes were on Draco and his arms fifteen degrees off from Harry, in the direction of Draco.

            “Hey, I’m Pa. That’s Father,” Harry protested.

            “Whatever Potter, he clearly wants me,” Draco said, stepping forward and engulfing his son in his arms. They snuggled tightly, with Leo’s head nestled in the crook of his neck, the messy black hair clinging to his lips. There was something intoxicating about the smell of a clean baby and he drank it in now. He let out a puff of air to blow the loose strands of hair away from his face, while Leo made a rooting motion with his head and started to whine. “I know baby, it’s time to eat isn’t it? But I have already given all the milk to Grandmother. Grandmother will feed you while I’m away. It won’t be much longer and then PaPa and I will come back for you.”

            Leo understood none of that and started crying louder, hoping to be fed from the source.

            “What is all of the fuss? Oh, Harry, Draco! I wasn’t expecting you for tea,” Dromeda said, coming into the room with a tray filled with tea and scones. “I only made scones for two, but if you give me a moment, I can find some biscuits.” She set the tray down on a side table, well away from the little fingers of growing babies.

            “Andy, can you take Teddy, so that I can take Leo?” Narcissa asked.

            “I didn’t get a chance to hold him since yesterday morning,” Harry protested, pulling the crying Leo from Draco’s arms. That only led to an increase in the volume of the cries, turning the wailing into all out screams. Leo didn’t want anyone but Draco when he was hungry.

            “Father loves you. I’ll be back before you know it.” Draco pressed a kiss to Leo’s nose. Leo reached out and tried to grab Draco, but Draco pulled away. “I’ll be in the kitchen, out of sight. That should help calm him,” as Draco said this last bit, he walked through the doorway, and then disappeared from sight.

            By now Dromeda had Teddy and Narcissa was armed with the bottle of fresh breastmilk. “Come to Grandmother, Leo. I have your milk,” she said, aiming the nipple into Leo’s crying mouth and muffling the wails, while the baby was still in Harry’s arms, pressed against Harry’s chest.

            Leo whimpered a bit more, but soon began to suck. Harry handed the baby off to Narcissa, who sat down on the sofa to feed her grandson. For all appearances she seemed the loving and doting grandmother. That was the way she appeared in Draco’s photos too, so Harry figured that she probably did really love the baby. He wished Draco had given him the bottle to feed Leo, but then he’d never asked Draco to do so and they were supposed to go shopping. Thus Harry took one last look at his son, pressed a kiss to the top of Leo’s head, before doing the same with Teddy. Then he followed Draco into the kitchen.

            From there they went out the back door into the garden and apparated to Diagon Alley. They stopped first at a clothing store for adults that specialized in summer gear. They both picked out swim clothes, sandals, and towels. Then they made a beeline for the baby store to acquire similar items for Teddy and Leo. Draco added a few water toys and a pair of baby lifejackets to the pile. Harry saw floatation rings, imported from muggle stores, and had to have a pair of them.

            Draco didn’t know what the rings were for, but he was growing increasingly anxious regarding the amount of time he’d spent away from his baby. Not counting the stop-over to deliver the milk, it was going on three hours, which was the longest he’d ever been away. He was missing his baby and feeling guilty about expressing his milk into the bottle. The least he should’ve done was to return to feed Leo properly and gone out shopping afterwards. Then they would have had an hour or so to reconnect, in the middle of the long time away. It was too late to undo what he’d done, but he could still go home right now, which he decided was the best course of action.

            “Er, I’m going to get Leo. You can settle up here. We already have everything we need and the clerk has my vault number,” Draco said, before apparating back to Dromeda’s house. He didn’t wait for a response from Harry; he was just gone.

            Harry didn’t know what that was about, other than the part about Draco offering to pay. It was Harry’s birthday and this was Harry’s gift, was what Draco had said when paying for their earlier purchases. He knew Draco intended on paying for this too. That was the way Draco was: free with money. Besides the initial mention of child support on the day Draco had arrived at Grimmauld Place, Draco hadn’t brought the subject up. Harry had sent in his form listing his finances anyway, but had received back a letter from the Ministry that Draco had reported living with Harry. As long as that was the case, no child support could be ordered.

            Harry figured they were splitting things fairly as it was, with him paying the bills, including groceries, water, heat, and trash removal. Draco paid for everything else and never asked for anything, other than a bodyguard to go along and protect him. Harry had been anticipating an issue when Leo outgrew the set of clothes Draco came with, but boxes of new, larger clothes were pulled out of the nappy bag without any expenditure of money, because Draco had apparently already been given everything he needed for the first year. Now that Harry had seen the pictures, he suspected all of these things had come from the baby shower. Draco’s generous friends and family meant that there was little for Harry to buy.

            Harry could’ve told the shopkeeper to put their purchase on Draco’s account, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to buy something for Teddy and Leo himself. He’d purchased a double-pram that was never used and a few little things here or there, but most everything his boys had was provided by other people. He wanted to do a bit of the providing himself. That was what men did and he wanted to be a man now. He was turning eighteen on Friday, after all, and he wanted to act like it.

            And now that he was left alone in the baby store without Draco rushing him, he went to the toy section. It wasn’t that either of his boys needed toys, but he himself had never had any decent toys as a child, so he wanted to buy something cool for them. He considered buying a swing-set or other playground equipment, but his yard was virtually nonexistent and his boys were too little. There was a rideable train with tracks, but that seemed a bit too much for his narrow house. Toy brooms were obvious, but the boys were too little; he’d get them for their first birthdays. He settled on a rocking horse built for two with removable infant seats, to provide safe rocking for babies who couldn’t yet walk.

            Dragging the rocking horse behind him and with all of the swimming gear tucked under his arms or swung over his shoulder, Harry made his way to the counter. On his way, the baby shirts with slogans caught his eye. He ignored all of the Harry Potter themed ones and instead picked out an identical pair of, “Daddy’s Little Wizard,” shirts, one in Leo’s size and the other in Teddy’s. Leo may call him Pa, but he was going to be Daddy too.

            At that point a shopkeeper came over and offered to help Harry transport all of the items to the cash register. Harry was tempted to keep shopping and buy the whole Gryffindor line of baby items for both boys, but then Leo had enough clothes already and Dromeda hated red on Teddy. Thus he let his purchases be shrunk into one neat, but overly large bag, paid with his own vault number, and went home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to tackle the race issue in this chapter, but then I went down a completely different route with the pictures and birthday shopping. It’s rather lite and fluffy, but I think it’s good to see a bit of what life was like for Draco and Leo before the start of the story. Up next will definitely be the race issue. To me there seems to be little physical or genetic difference between people; the difference is cultural. Any ideas how African pureblood culture might differ from British pureblood culture? What do you think?  
> Please Review!


	20. Chapter20

            Monday morning Harry was called into the Minister of Magic’s office. On the way there, he hoped he was being summoned to help with some secret project to round up the last of the Death Eater resistance or something equally cool. When he got there, he soon realized that that was not the case. This was a social call.

            Kingsley Shacklebolt rose from where he was sitting on his desk, one of his great-nieces in his lap, as Harry entered. This girl had Kingsley’s dark complexion, warm smile, and her dark nappy hair was styled into two puffs on her head. She wore an orange and grey school uniform proclaiming the name Ottery St Catchpole Primary, which was the Kindergarten she attended. Moving the girl of age five to his hip, the Minister held out his free hand for Harry to shake and greeted his most popular employee with a warm smile. “Harry! It’s good to see you!”

            Harry returned the handshake and the smile. He replied, “Good to see you too,” and looked around at the room’s other occupants at the same time.

            On one side of the office sat an older witch in a comfy armchair. Dressed in regal linen robes and an aqua colored scarf on her head, she bore a striking resemblance to Kingsley. Sitting next to her, Harry recognized Angelina Johnson, from his former Quidditch team and George’s current girlfriend. Standing behind the pair was an equally dark young lady, dressed in more typical British robes, her hair cropped short. On the other side of the office a lighter skinned young witch barely two years older than Harry was pulling a toddler away from Kingsley’s bookshelf. This witch wore muggle jeans and a t-shirt, which were wrinkled, giving her a harried appearance. The toddler had the lightest skin of all and her short yellowish hair was braided into at least a dozen thin braids. Her tiny frame was draped in a blue Disney princess dress that had seen better days, the tulle tearing at the edges, but it did bring out the blue in her eyes. Standing next to the pair was Seamus Finnigan of all people, completing the rainbow gathering.

            “Harry, I’d like you to meet my sister Morowa, her two daughters Oriaku and Khari. This little cutie here is Ria’s daughter Deoch and that one is Khari’s daughter Mairi,” Kingsley introduced grandly. “I believe you already know Seamus and Angelina.”

            Harry nodded and smiled to both of his friends, before ducking his head and saying, “Nice to meet you,” not sure what this was about. He was happy to meet Kingsley’s family, but seeing as the Minister’s nephew was courting Draco, this meeting seemed like it was likely to be more than just an introduction. And why were Angelina and Seamus in the group as well? Maybe Angelina might fit in somehow, but Seamus stuck out in the sea of color just as surely as Harry did.

            “Harry Potter! It is so nice to finally meet you,” Morowa said in a voice equally as booming as Kingsley’s, if more feminine.

            Harry offered his hand to the older witch, but was instead engulfed in a Molly Weasley-style hug. She placed a smacking kiss on his cheek, making him blush awkwardly, before she finally pulled away.

            “Harry!” Angelina greeted cheerfully, giving him a shorter, quick hug.

            “Fancy me seeing you here like this Harry.” When Harry raised his eyebrows at Seamus, the wizard explained, “Me half-brother Faolan asked me to come with his wife Khari, seeing as you’re one of me mates.”

            Harry was vaguely aware that Seamus had a pair of older illegitimate pureblood siblings on his mother’s side, but he wasn’t aware that the half-brother was married to Kingsley’s niece. He quickly deduced that the light-colored Mairi was likely Seamus’ niece. That still left how Angelina fit in and why Harry was meeting them all here now.

            “Yeah, and my brother Stephen is married to Ria,” Angelina put in, supplying her connection to the group. “We thought it would be a bit awkward if they all show up at your house to see Draco. Since we already know you, Seamus and I agreed to come along.”

            That explained almost all of it. “You lot are coming by to see Draco?” Harry asked. He wasn’t sure what the rules for pureblood courting were, but he hadn’t expected meeting the entire family to come before the second date.

            “Yes, Dane asked us to. As his sisters, Khari and I agreed. Our mother just wants to meet the wizard her oldest son has eyes for, so she invited herself along,” Ria said.

            “As is my right,” Morowa said forcefully and no one challenged her on that point.

            “Ah, why, exactly, did Dane ask you to do this?” Harry asked, waving his arms around in a circle, indicating the extended family and whatever it was that was going on.

            “To teach young Draco to do hair. My son and this young man have exchanged a number of letters since their first date, regarding the possibility of a marriage between the two families. Draco listed his complete inexperience with styling our type of hair as his number one issue that needs to be dealt with before he can agree to a commitment with my Dane,” Morowa answered.

            “Yeah, so Khari and I are bringing Mairi and Dede over to show him,” Ria added.

            “And _I_ get to play with the baby!” Dede exclaimed happily, still in Kingsley’s strong arms.

            “You already get to play with Mairi all of the time,” Kingsley teased, tickling Dede.

            Dede giggle and protested, “Yeah, but she grow big and she don’t listen. Uncle Dane said Baby Leo is still little. He’ll have to play what _I_ want to play.” Clearly the older of the two girls was the bossy one.

            “You called me in here, Kingsley, to invite your family over to my house, so that Draco can learn how to comb hair?” Harry asked, making sure he had this right. It certainly wasn’t something he ever expected to happen. It reminded him of a story he read in school as a child: If you Give a Mouse a Biscuit. Only instead of Draco wanting a glass of milk, he wanted to invite almost Kingsley Shacklebolt’s entire family over to braid hair.

            “Yes Harry, I hope this will be acceptable. If not, Draco and Leo can come over to my sister’s house. We just thought he’d be more comfortable if we came to him,” Kingsley answered.

            Harry instantly knew that he preferred the rainbow coalition to come to his house, because that way he would know what was going on. He wanted to watch, especially because he couldn’t at all imagine Draco Malfoy braiding hair. “No, that’s fine. When are you all coming?” he asked.

            “Tonight, for a start, although we’re coming back Thursday too,” Ria supplied.

            “And we’ll keep coming back until that boy knows how to handle some hair,” Morowa added in her firm manner.

            Harry agreed and with that settled, he returned to work.

 

* * *

 

 

            That night Ron decided to go home with Harry, so that he could be there to see Draco learning to do little black girl’s hair too. Ron had tried to bet Harry a knut that Draco wouldn’t be able to do it and turn into the Slytherin’s old sharp-tongued self. Harry had refused the bet, partly because he also couldn’t picture Draco doing so. He didn’t like to admit that the other part of the reason was that he didn’t want to bet on Draco like this. It just felt wrong.

            Harry and Ron flooed into a full drawing room, with the rainbow coalition as Harry had dubbed them, already there. Somehow the lot of them had managed to give the room a different feel, without changing much. It was primarily sound that transformed the room. Their loud and happy voices, free with their laughter, echoed off of the walls, giving a cheerful, homey feel to the room. And then there was the African music being played by the radio, giving off upbeat tribal tunes, heavy in drums, hand clapping, and chanting rhythms. Harry was so used to Draco’s favorite music station and the baby music station that he barely even noticed it playing in the background anymore, but since it had changed, he did notice. Now that he thought about it, he began to realize how important music seemed to be to Draco. There was always music in the house when Draco was there, he wasn’t afraid to sing along either, and he even had a pretty decent voice. Harry hoped Leo got Draco’s singing ability, rather than his own lack thereof.

            Morowa was sitting on the sofa, but Draco and the three younger witches were kneeled in a circle on the floor around Dede, whose hair they were braiding with magic. Poor Dede’s hair was a bit of a mess. It had been washed and combed and all of the previous tangles and lint were gone, but it was far from looking presentable. One side was tied down out of the way in a bun, while the majority of the other side stuck out in a freshly combed afro. Sections of braids of varying thickness and quality were encroaching on the afro side. Dede was taking it in stride though, a smile on her downturned face as she held still for the adults. Despite the practiced stillness of her head, she and her mother Ria were singing and clapping along to the music.

            For once, Draco wasn’t singing. He had a section of Dede’s hair in his left hand, his wand in his right, a hair tie clench in between his teeth, and was trying to affect the wrist-twist and corresponding wand movement needed to perform the braiding spell, when the sound of the floo and Harry and Ron’s sudden appearance threw him off. The hair transformed into an ugly tangle.

            “Merlin, I messed it up again,” Draco swore disappointedly, not looking up at the new arrivals.

            “That’s okay. I’ll just straighten the nap back out and you can try again. Keep in mind that once you can do one, you can move on to doing many at the same time. Our Mother can do a whole head in one go,” Khari said. Then she performed the complex spell that put the tuff of hair back to rights.

            Angelina, the baby lover, was sitting on the floor in front of Dede with both Mairi and Leo in her lap. Leo seemed fascinated by his new playmates and kept grabbing for either Angelina’s long dark braids or Mairi’s short yellow ones.

            “Just wait until it’s finished and you see the transformation from a nappy mess to beautiful braids,” Ria said encouragingly and Draco nodded, preparing for another go.

            Seamus was the only one missing. But Ron disappeared down to the kitchens to get a snack and when he came back up, he was already deep in conversation with the previously missing wizard. They were carrying popped corn and sandwiches, courtesy of Kreacher. Stopping in the doorway, Ron motioned Harry down the hall. “Come on, mate,” Ron said.

            Harry wanted to stay and watch, but he felt awkward with all of the women in the room. Plus he’d already seen that Draco was indeed giving it a go and everyone seemed to be getting along. Thus he agreed to follow his friends up the stairs.

            The three wizards went upstairs and down the hall into Ron’s room, which Ron hadn’t been in in ages.

            “Ew, what’s that smell?” Seamus was the first to complain.

            “Don’t ask me; that’s all Ron. This is his room,” Harry said, passing the blame.

            “Me? I haven’t slept over since before Hermione and I left. No reason to without Hermione and I don’t fancy sleeping down the hall from a Malfoy,” Ron replied.

            “Well whatever you did before you left, is still waiting for you in here. Kreacher’s going a bit barmy in his old age; he refuses to come in here. He said this room has bad spirits,” Harry retorted.

            “Yeah, and by spirits, me thinks he means smell. This room reeks,” Seamus added.

            They bickered about the smell for a few minutes more, before Ron cast a temporary smell-removal charm he’d picked up from living with five older brothers. He didn’t bother concerning himself with finding the actual source of the smell, since Hermione would see to that when she returned. He was fine leaving things for his girlfriend.

            Once that was settled, Harry pulled out his extendable ears, the new version with the extra-long cord, and threaded it down the stairs, just close enough to the drawing room that they could hear what was going on, but not so close as to be easily noticed. They had to be careful, because Angelina, being George’s girlfriend, would recognize the thing if she saw it. They listened for a few minutes, but when nothing out of the ordinary happened, unless you count Draco Malfoy playing mum and getting on with Dane’s family unusual, they began to talk over the sound.

            First Ron asked Seamus about his brother, confirming what Harry had already told Ron about Seamus’ brother being married to and having a baby by Kingsley’s niece. There wasn’t much to tell. Faolan and Khari met at Hogwarts when she was a third year and he was a sixth year. The relationship continued until Khari, having just finished Hogwarts, had turned up pregnant with Mairi. That was a bit of a scandal, because Khari was so young and Faolan was illegitimate. Seamus’ mother had had a fling with an older married pureblood wizard, producing Faolan and his twin sister Líadan. That had been a scandal of and in itself that the twins had had to live with all of their lives. After that Mrs. Finnegan had married a muggle, to get away from the ridicule, and had Seamus. It was unlikely that a proper pureblood family would agree to marry a child to any of them and especially not a daughter as young as Khari.

            Faolan had done the right thing and asked the girl to marry him anyway, even though he thought her mother would turn him down. But given the pregnancy, Morowa had agreed to the marriage. And although it wasn’t widely known, there was scandal in the Ndiaye family too, because the late Mr. Ndiaye’s father had had _two_ wives in Senegal, before moving to Britain and marrying a third. Polygamy was common and a sign of wealth in many African pureblood societies, although it was not permitted in British pureblood society. Under British law, the two prior marriages were null and void by the third, but under Senegalese law, all three were valid and binding. As the product of such a questionable union, it made Dane’s father’s chances of marrying into a proper pureblood family very slim. It was only Morowa of the Shacklebolt family who understood the complexities of an African background and accepted the man as a suitor. But that was all two generations in the past and both Dane’s father and grandfather were now dead, so it was almost removed enough to not count against the Ndiaye siblings.

            Ron next asked, “How come the little one is blond?”

            That caused Seamus to go into another aspect of the story. “It surprised us all when me brother’s child came out so light. Then it came to the forefront that Khari’s paternal grandmother was Welch with blond hair and blue eyes. Apparently Khari’s father had her light skin tone too, an even mix of his African father and Welch mother. That along with me brother Faolan’s equally pale Irish features combined to produce me fair niece, Mairi, with her surprisingly yellow hair and blue eyes.”

            Seamus’ story was wrapping up when a chorus of song erupted from the extendable ears, “Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves. Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.” The sound of the radio in the background had been turned down or off, so that all they heard was the women singing.

            The three wizards stopped talking to listen, but it soon ended in a fit of laughter.

            “What was that about?” Ron asked.

            “See, we Shackelbolt’s are as British as the next wizard,” Morowa’s voice boomed.

            “Maybe more British than us Malfoys; I have not heard that song before,” Draco’s voice replied. The only people in all of Britain who hadn’t heard that song were purebloods.

            “Well sing us one you know,” Ria encouraged.

            Draco proceeded to sing God Save the King, in his lovely voice.

            After Draco finished, Dede exclaimed, “It’s Queen! We have a queen now!”

            “Oh,” Draco replied, sounding let down, as if he hadn’t known King George was succeeded by Queen Elizabeth decades ago.

            “Now, now Dede, Draco here doesn’t get to go to Kindergarten like you. He doesn’t get to hear the stories about our Queen,” Morowa replied.

            “No, but I am related to her,” Draco replied.

            “You are? Are you part muggle, then?” Dede asked excitedly.

            “No, not even a stich, but the royal family are part squib. We Malfoys always send our squibs to live with them, but there hasn’t been a squib in the Malfoy family for _ages_. Not since Victoria Malfoy over a century ago. Everyone called her May. When she didn’t get her Hogwarts letter, her parents sent her to live with our closest squib relatives, who had already married into the royal family. They married her off to someone named King George. Not the most recent one; one of the older ones, I think. There were a lot of King Georges,” Draco answered.

            “Wow!” Dede exclaimed.

            Morowa then proceeded to tell Draco about her family’s link to royalty in Africa. Harry wanted to listen, but it was hard to hear the sound from the extendable ears, over the voices of his friends. Ron and Seamus had resumed talking, uninterested in the other conversation. They had moved on to the exploits of Auror training and Harry soon joined in.

 

* * *

 

            The next morning Pig arrived with a letter from Ginny.

 

_Harry-_

_I can’t believe you’re missing this! France is AMAZING!!! It’s soooo sunny here, that it is unbelievable. We spent the entire day lounging out by the shore. Are you sure you can’t take off Wednesday and come for one day? I’m coming back Thursday morning, so that I can spend your birthday with you. We can have the weekend together before I have to leave for Quidditch camp. I can’t believe you gave me your ticket. Are you sure you haven’t changed your mind and still don’t want to go? Would it make a difference if I got George to lend me the money for a ticket for myself, so that we could go together?_

_I miss you. Hugs and kisses._

_-Love Gin_

 

            Harry had to read it three times before everything sunk in, not because there were any difficult concepts in it, but because he had trouble focusing on something of so little importance when he was sitting at the breakfast table next to Draco and Leo. But eventually the words sunk in and he knew what he had to do. He left Draco to manage Leo’s breakfast solo, while he rushed upstairs to write Ginny back before work.

 

_Gin-_

_I’m soo glad you are having a good time. That makes me really happy to hear. I really can’t come tomorrow. I’m super busy; not only with work, but Kingsley has just imposed his family on me. I spent last night entertaining the lot of Shacklebolts and they are to be back Thursday. Also, I’m on Shacklebolt detail a few days next week too, so there is absolutely no way I’ll be able to go. I want you to go for me and have fun; I really do. That was such a thoughtful gift and it would’ve been great if we could’ve gone together, but it just won’t work out this year. You go and kick some Quidditch arse. Oh, and you might as well stay in France the few extra days; didn’t Sydney offer that you could stay for the whole week? This is your last chance to be a teenager and have fun. My childhood was sort of shot with the war and Voldemort, but yours doesn’t have to be. I want you to stay in France and have a good time. Take pictures and tell me all about it when you come home._

_Hugs and kisses._

_-Harry_

            Either France wasn’t nearly far enough away, or Pig was _way_ too energetic of a bird, because there was another letter for Harry from Ginny the next morning. It was a bit whiney and asked again about his birthday, but Harry wrote back that he had to work Friday, even though he didn’t. Ron and the other Aurors were the only ones who knew he had the day off and he’d gotten Ron to promise not to tell. He didn’t think spending the day with Draco and the boys was a big deal, but he remembered how upset Ginny was the last time he had chosen to spend his day off with them instead of her and he wasn’t up for a repeat of that. Ron understood and swore he would never tell and Harry was naive enough to hope she would never find out. And if she stayed in France until Saturday, maybe she wouldn’t. Thus he encouraged her to stay a few more days.

            Ginny was having a grand time with Sydney, Kellen, and Ellard. She wanted to spend Harry’s birthday with him, but she acquiesced to Harry’s urging for her to stay in France a few more days without much thought. It helped that they were drinking heavily and she was having so much fun. Truthfully, she drank so much each day that it was amazing that she managed to sober up enough to send the letters she did send. She probably wouldn’t have managed even that, if she hadn’t been under orders from her mum to write her parents every day. It wasn’t that much harder to write Harry too and have Pig drop off both letters.

 

* * *

 

 

            The following morning yet another letter came from Ginny, which Harry read as he sat at the breakfast table. This one bore the good news that she wouldn’t be back until Saturday. It was Thursday morning and the rainbow coalition was due back tonight to resume Draco’s lessons. Harry tucked Ginny’s last letter away in his robe pocket, before asking, “Draco, are the Shacklebolt’s still coming today?”

            “Yes,” Draco answered, absentmindedly picking bits of mashed peas out of Leo’s hair with one hand, the baby spoon still in his other. Their son was a messy eater, especially with peas.

            “Right. Draco, can I ask you something?” Harry asked nervously.

            “You just did.” Draco looked up with a smirk and motioned for Harry to go ahead with the hand still holding the spoon.

            “Do you want to marry Dane?”

            “Not yet. It’s too soon for that. Someday, maybe. My parents are trying to push me into this, but I’m not ready.” Truthfully it felt nice to have someone paying romantic attention to him and Draco liked the secure feeling of having someone waiting in the wings for him. But deep down, he still wanted Harry. He would take things very slowly with Dane, in hopes that in time Harry would come around.

            “For Dane or for anyone?” Harry asked.

            “For anyone.” Draco couldn’t very well say, _For anyone but you_ , but that was what he felt.

            “So it’s not Dane. You don’t have a problem with him?”

            “No, he was a bit handsy and tried to get me to play tonsil hockey with him on your porch.” And that was just the first date. “But other than that, he was nice and he’s quite good looking. I would need to know a lot more than that though, before I can marry the bloke. We haven’t even had our second date yet.”

            “And have you considered having kids with this guy?” Harry asked. That was the reason for the rainbow coalition meetings, wasn’t it?

            “Yes, he said he wants children of his own. I want a girl, but I think he might want a boy. I might have to agree to two more children if I were to marry him.” Three children were a lot for a Malfoy, but Draco liked children. He’d always longed for a sibling to play with as a child and wished for a larger family. In truth he was a bit jealous of the Weasleys, although he still thought that there were three more Weasleys than was proper by any standards.

            “And you’re not worried about that?”

            “No, why would I be, Harry?” Draco asked in reply.

            “Well it’s just that he’s sort of dark and his kids will have nappy hair…”

            This was nearly the same thing Harry had overheard Draco say to Narcissa, but that didn’t occur to Draco. Instead it sounded rather prejudiced coming out of someone else’s mouth. He harshly dropped the spoon back into Leo’s bowl and cast a privacy spell, so that the baby wouldn’t hear any more of this conversation. “And what, precisely, about that do you think should cause me worry?” he asked through clenched teeth. He was angry, but he wanted to make sure Harry was going where he thought Harry was going with this.

            “It’s just that your kids would be mixed raced and I was wondering if you are okay with that?”

            “Should I not be?” Draco asked and Harry shrugged. The noncommittal response made Draco angrier. He felt like he could throw something at Harry or slap the wizard, but couldn’t decide which and he didn’t want Leo to see something like that, so he did neither. “Harry James Potter! I have put up with a _lot_ from you. I don’t think you have any idea how much _Potterness_ I tolerate on a _daily_ basis, but you turning into _my father_ is the _one_ thing I _will not_ tolerate! Do you realize how much you sound like him right now?”

            “Er, no?” Harry wasn’t quite sure why Draco was so mad at him for asking about this subject, other than the fact that it did seem to be a sticky one. He also had no idea how to defuse Draco’s anger.

            “Well you do. You sound exactly like Lucius Abraxas Malfoy the Second.     This is the sort of shite he would say and you know what? I’m sick of it! I’m sick of him. That’s why I _left_ Austria. I didn’t move in with you to have you turn into my father. If that is how things are going to be, then I will find somewhere else to go,” Draco threatened.

            Draco didn’t really have anywhere else he wanted to be. His grandmother Black had a place up in the Hebrides Islands, but Grandmother Black had a lot in common with dear departed Aunt Bellatrix. The Malfoys owned a summer house on the south shore, but Grandmother Malfoy lived there. Grandmother Malfoy wasn’t as nasty as her son, but she didn’t like babies; the fact that she had ignored Lucius until he was three and left him to be cared for by elves might have had something to do with why he turned out so awful. Draco knew he wouldn’t be welcomed with her until Leo could talk and use the toilet. His parents were in the cottage in Austria and he didn’t want to move back in with them. The Aurors still hadn’t released Malfoy Manor. That left only the villa in France available, and that was a dangerous choice, because it had been used for Death Eater retreats. Any Death Eater still on the run might show up there at any time seeking sanctuary.

            As for friends, they were either dead, awaiting trial, or mad at him for turning in Death Eaters. Regan now knew he’d told and blamed him for her brother’s capture. And some of his old friends he didn’t think were the sort Leo should be around, so he hadn’t even bothered to contact them since the birth. Then there was Dane. It was too early by far to move in with the wizard, but perhaps Dane would know somewhere Draco and Leo could go. This was the first time Draco thought for a moment that Dane might be better than Harry in some way and was glad to have him to turn to. Dane couldn’t possibly be prejudiced, even if Harry was.

            “No! Don’t go. Look, I’m sorry, don’t go,” Harry pleaded desperately. He couldn’t let this turn into something that would alienate him from his son.

            Draco sighed, the anger being replaced by disappointment. “All this time and I never knew our savior was a racist like my father. Don’t talk like that around me and if you teach that hate to my son, I will drag your name through the mud like you’ve never seen before. I mean worse than Undesirable No. 1 status. I don’t want Leo to be exposed to any of that hate. I don’t want him to have that in his life, the way I had growing up. It’s not fair; he has enough of it from the Malfoy side; I didn’t know I had to worry about it from the Potter side too.”

            “You don’t. I like black people. I’m friends with Dean Thomas. He’s black. Angelina Johnson and Lee Jordan are cool too,” Harry backtracked, wondering how he’d managed to come off as the racist here.

            “Then what are you _on_ about?” Draco asked exasperated. Harry was confusing him now.

            “I just thought you had a problem with black people. I thought you didn’t like the Shacklebolts. I thought you were complaining about the blind date, because Dane is black.” Harry was careful not to reveal too much knowledge, ever wary of being found out for spying.

            Draco sighed again. “I’m trying not to, but it’s hard when you’ve grown up with a father like mine. I like Dane and I’m close with Blaise Zabini, but my father’s teachings run deep. Mostly I was just scared, because they are different than me. They have different dances, sing different songs, and listen to different music. Mother Morowa does that suffocating hugging and her kisses are like an invasion of my personal space.”

            “I take it she greeted you the same way she did me, then,” Harry replied.

            “It’s likely; I suppose she greets everyone that way. I was worried they might be Efif, Odinani, Serer, or even Vodun, instead of Celtic. Luckily they seem to be a mix of Odinani, Serer, and Celtic, so I won’t be expected to deal with Vodun or Efif. It will still be difficult though, because the Malfoys have never been particularly religious; we only celebrate as much the Celtic way as we do, because of my mother’s people. Mother Morowa’s people are Odinani, and they are about as devoutly religious as it gets, so I’m scared to death I will say something wrong and she will realize that I am not religious enough for her son.

            “It’s a lot on ancestor worship,” Draco continued, “which is the one thing the Malfoys do practice. So I might be okay there, but then the Raan festival with all of that animal sacrifice? I’m not so sure I can stomach that one. But Dane’s father was Serer, which besides the animal sacrifice, is one of the more appealing of the religions. At least Dane’s family doesn’t practice polygamy anymore, which is a plus. Although they still prefer larger families than the British purebloods. And I can tell Mother Morowa wants to fatten me up. She thinks we are all too skinny by half.”

            That included Morowa’s own daughters, so it probably wasn’t a big deal. If she tolerated Ria and Khari being thin, then she would tolerate slenderness on Draco as well. It was just one of those things that old women say. There were a lot of mothering types in Britain that tried to feed everyone too, so she wasn’t all that different from the norm.

            Draco had been doing a lot of research this week on the various African pureblood cultures and religious practices, wanting to know what he was getting himself into. There were a great many different cultures and religions to sort through, but out of the lot, the two Dane’s family brought with them to this country were probably as close to the native Celtic beliefs as it got. Worship of nature and ancestors were central to all three, so it would not be as bad as he’d feared. There was still the aspect of meditation and trances he wasn’t comfortable with, and especially the animal sacrifice. He preferred his meat prepared and cooked by elves before he had to see it. He didn’t like to think of his food as formerly alive. Slaughtering living things at a temple was not something he at all wanted to participate in. He’d had enough of that with the Dark Lord. He had a feeling he was going to have to be excused from those festivities.

            “So you are worried about fitting in?” Harry asked.

            Draco nodded. “And about how to do that type of hair. That was the biggest thing, which was why Dane arranged for his family to come by and teach me. It’s hard, but they seem nice.” He shrugged.

            Harry already knew that—Kingsley had told him as much—but he didn’t know why. “Why are you so worried about the hair now? It will be years before you’ll need to learn.” That was if Draco did end up having Dane’s baby, which Harry still didn’t want.

            “I want to know I can do it, before I get myself in for it. Besides, as Dane’s spouse I will be required to plait my hair a certain way for festivals. His mother and sisters will do it for me for the wedding, but I don’t want to be forever dependent on them.” If Draco was to move back to Africa, he would have to grow his hair longer and plait it all of the time, but in Britain, they only had to wear the proper hairstyle on special occasion. On the plus side, magic could grow hair quickly and he wouldn’t be expected to have hair past his shoulders. On the minus side, he had yet to try it and had no idea how stupid he might look with braids in his hair.

            Draco left it at that, but there was so much more he could’ve said. He might reveal that he’d always wanted a little girl who looked just like his mother. He could have told how when he was five he imagined getting a baby sister named Delphina, with blond hair and blue eyes. A little girl with his looks was something he’d always hoped he’d have one day for himself. It was also something that just wasn’t possible if he married Dane. If that was the course he chose to pursue, he’d have to give up the dream. He didn’t know if the dream would come true with Harry as the other parent, but it was at least a possibility. But now that he’d seen Dane’s nieces and how pretty they were, he could see his dream shifting to having a darker little princess. Although given Mairi’s fair color, maybe their daughter wouldn’t be as different as he thought. He thought he could still make the dream work, if he could just get the knack for the various hair-styling spells.

            “Alright, but I still don’t get what the big deal is. Can’t Dane just do the hair?”

            “Dane works in the prosecutor’s office. If we marry, I’ll be expected to tend to the children.”

            Dane being a prosecutor explained why he had wanted to accompany Draco to the Ministry and also why Dane had wanted to talk about the case where Draco and Leo were attacked. It also had implications as to why Lucius Malfoy, a sort of wanted Death Eater, might have contacted Dane in the first place. A marriage to a prosecutor with ties to the Minister of Magic just might make Lucius’ legal problems go away.

            “You aren’t going to work too?”

            “I can make potions from home, but no, I want to stay home when my children are little. After they are all off to school, then I’ll start learning my father’s business,” Draco said.

            Harry nodded, glad that Draco was committed to staying home with Leo too. It would be good for their son to have a stay-at-home parent.

            At that point Leo managed to summon the bowl and spoon from across his tray and then proceeded to throw both items at his parents, for ignoring him. He didn’t like being put in a privacy bubble for so long and not being able to hear anything. He might’ve stopped to try to eat some of the puree first, but it was peas. He hated peas and had been doing his best to spit them out and get them all over the place all morning; messes distracted his father from trying to feed him. He laughed and clapped his hands, as the peas splattered all over the place. They would have to feed him something tastier now; maybe one of those orange purees he liked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it: Draco isn’t as awful as Lucius, although he is still struggling with all of the hate his father has heaped on him. I think it’s time he and Harry start growing closer, so I plan some close, personal time for them in the next chapter. What issues do you think they still need to discuss?  
> I think I’ll skip the second hair-styling session, because it will just be more of the first. Harry’s actual birthday with Draco and the boys will be next.  
> Please Review!


	21. Chapter 21

            Harry took his actual birthday off from Auror training to spend with Draco, Teddy, and Leo. The four of them went out to Malfoy Manor to swim in Malfoy Lake. It was Draco’s idea and although they still weren’t allowed inside the Manor itself, the lake and associated lake house contained no evidence and was located on the other side of the grounds. Thus the lake was open to them. And being the last day of July, the heat was sweltering, making the water the perfect temperature. The babies, now four and six months, were old enough to enjoy the water and appreciate cooling off. Harry thought it was the perfect family outing and had been looking forward to it since the moment Draco had brought the idea up.

            The air blew over them, hot and dry with the scent of forest and wildflowers as the four of them entered the warm water. Draco’s short blond hair blew in the breeze and caught Harry’s eye. Harry had let it slip that he wasn’t fond of the haircut Draco had gotten for the date with Dane. Shortly after that revelation, Draco cut his hair even shorter, so that it no longer required jelling. It was incredibly sexy and Harry found himself wishing he hadn’t said anything about the dorky jelled look.

            Harry carried the two infant inflatables, after handing Teddy off to Draco. Draco waded into the warm shallow water with a baby on each hip, Teddy clinging so tightly to Draco’s arm that the baby’s knuckles were white and his fingers indented Draco’s skin.

            Leo, on Draco’s other side, had a gigantic smile on his face, arms raised to splash in what must’ve seemed to him like the biggest bathtub in the world. He squealed and babbled excitedly.

            Draco, for his part, wore a smirk that turned to a relaxed adoring look as he reached the point where the babies were halfway submerged and neither cried. Teddy had looked like he was about to cry for a second, but then it past, his hair turned silver blond, and he laughed and kicked at the water.

            Harry let go of the two inflatables to grab at the waterproof camera around his neck to capture the shot, sure that he’d want to remember this birthday for the rest of his life. Looking at his three boys gave him this warm glow that was intoxicating. He must’ve gotten lost in his happy fantasies, because the next thing he knew, Leo’s ball was crashing down right in front of him and splashing him in the face. All three of his boys laughed at that and the sound was music to his ears.

            “Alright, let’s see how these little rafts work,” Harry said, pushing one towards Draco and taking Teddy, who was closest.

            “First we need to test the life vests. If they don’t float with the proper side up, then we are taking them back and getting new ones, _before_ we try these death contraptions of yours,” Draco drawled with an easy smirk. Where before Harry found that drawl and smirk annoying or infuriating, he now found it endearing. He craved it and found himself longing for it when he was with the Weasleys or Ginny.

            The life vests were magical and charmed with all the latest in infant water safety spells. The inflatables were a muggle import, which was the main reason Draco didn’t trust them. But as long as the life vests worked, then the inflatables were superfluous, which was why he’d allowed them.

            “Alight,” Harry said, slowly letting Teddy go. Teddy screeched and tried to grab onto him, holding onto Harry’s finger with a death grip. The vest worked and the baby stayed floating perfectly in the water, head up. He tested the vest by pushing on Teddy, causing the baby to bob back and forth, but never to tip, because the vest righted itself every time. “Hmm, maybe you were right about not needing the inflatables.”

            Teddy clearly didn’t like that idea, because he chose that moment to let out a piercing wail of a scream, so Harry pulled the baby in close. Teddy clung to Harry, tangling one of his little hands in Harry’s black chest hair and indenting the skin on Harry’s side with the other. Looking up from Teddy, Harry saw that Draco had let Leo go, who was happily laughing as he splashed merrily in the water.

            “Mine likes it,” Draco replied, as if it were a contest.

            “Yours like everything.”

            “He has my sunny disposition.” Draco’s smirk grew until he let out a loud guffaw.

            “Your sunny disposition my arse,” Harry muttered, knowing full well that Leo took after him, not Draco, except when the baby was upset. If something was wrong, Leo let them know very loudly.

            “I have the magic touch with babies. Here, trade me,” Draco said, pushing Leo over to Harry and reaching out for Teddy.

            Harry passed Teddy over and gladly took the happy Leo, moving off with the six month old to retrieve the ball Harry had let out of his grasp.

            Meanwhile, Draco put Teddy in one of the muggle inflatables and showed the baby how he could grab onto the circular air-filled tube, which Teddy did with his typical death grip. Then he conjured a few twinkling lights to float in the water just in front of Teddy’s hands and added a chain of toys, which he summoned from the lake house. Finally, Draco spelled on the music and the sound system to play cheerful baby tunes. The lights and toys distracted Teddy enough for him to begin to enjoy the water and he was soon laughing as he smacked his hands into the watery lights, sending splashes of water up into the air.

            When Leo and Harry returned with the ball, Teddy seemed like a whole new baby. “Fine, I guess you do have the magic touch,” Harry admitted, his smile matching Leo’s.

            “Too right I do,” Draco replied, boasting proudly. “Dane and I will probably have a baby; I’m sure it will be part of the marriage contract. I hope it’s a girl.” He’d figured out that the mention of the other wizard bothered Harry. He was fairly certain Harry was jealous and so had taken to mentioning Dane whenever he remembered to slot said mention in. Dane was alright and had been a decent date, but Draco would rather have Harry. He told himself he wanted Harry for Leo, because Harry was Leo’s other parent, but in truth he’d always been obsessed with Harry. Leo was just an excuse to act on his obsession.

            Jealously roared up in Harry at that statement. He wanted to be the one Draco had a little girl with. He loved his boys, but his family was missing a little princess. He thought their family was just about perfect, if Draco was replaced by someone more like Ginny, and a little girl was added. He wasn’t ready to admit to himself that he would want that with Draco.

            “Ginny doesn’t want children,” Harry said and they left it at that.

            The four of them enjoyed an hour of merriment in the cool water, until the sun grew too hot and they had to bring the babies in. Teddy was already half asleep on Draco’s shoulder when they walked into the lake house, Harry summoning all of their things in from the water as he carried Leo on his hip. Draco dried, changed, and fed Teddy, before laying the baby down to sleep on a blanket in a portable playpen. Then Draco slipped Leo away from Harry, who was still summoning missing sandals and had a growing pile of swimming supplies to put away. Draco dried and changed Leo, setting the baby free to crawl around the floor.

            When Harry finished deflating the muggle infant tubes, he spelled himself dry, before walking into the loo to change, only Draco was already in there. Draco’s swim clothes had been enticing and formfitting, but modest, with his swim shirt covering his chest. But right now Draco was naked, with nothing but a towel tied around his waist and another towel he was working through his blond hair. There was a tantalizing drop of water slowly working its way down his chest. Harry watched as it gathered around Draco’s pert nipple, which was protruding out on the slight mound of his breast, growing slightly larger and cloudier, before falling. It landed lower down on Draco’s firm abs and then slowly trickled its way into the towel.

            Then another bead of white liquid formed on the nipple and dripped down and Harry realized it was milk. Draco’s chest was swollen with milk, since it was almost Leo’s feeding time. All of that milk must be the reason why Draco’s breasts look fuller than usual; well they’d been larger since having Leo, but they were still usually barely there. Now there was at least an A cup worth of tissue…maybe even a B.

            Catching sight of Harry’s presence in the mirror, Draco turned to scowl at him. In a move that was probably the opposite of what happened between them in sixth year, Harry stepped forward and placed his hands on either side of Draco’s face and brought their lips together for a sensual kiss. Draco’s lips were hot, wet, and firm, yet they gave and reformed around his. And then Draco’s tongue was inside his mouth, rough and probing, sliding over his teeth until it reached his own tongue and pushed it back.

            They were snogging, bodies pressed against one another, Harry in his swim trunks and Draco in nothing but a towel. Harry was excited, hard length confined by his swimming shorts and rubbing against Draco’s leg. Harry worked one of his thighs in between Draco’s legs, unable to stop himself from satisfying this all-encompassing need that had settled in his groin.

            And then Harry felt the hard length pushing back against his, pushing into the fabric that still covered him. It felt long and thick and he couldn’t help looking down, his eyes drawn to the sight. It was a first for him, lusting after and devouring the bulge of another wizard’s body with his eyes. His eyes dilated as he realized the size of it. Sure he’d had a drunken frott against it before, but he hardly remembered it and he definitely hadn’t any idea of the dimensions of the thing. It was difficult to tell with the way it was covered with the towel, but he began to think that Draco was at least as large as himself, and quite possible a good deal larger.

            Harry was close already, his blood pounding in his ears, his heart racing, and his cock throbbing, as his rhythm faltered and turned into frantic, desperate frotting. He could feel the tingle in his ballocks that signaled that he was nearly there, his testes drawing up for the impending explosion. And then Draco was pushing him away, separating him from that exquisitely hard body that he’d been rubbing against.

            “No, stop,” Draco said with a groan.

            “Huh? Wh-? Why’d you stop?” Harry asked, as the blood flow started to rush away from his bits and back towards his head.

            “You are engaged to Weasley. You cannot have me until you admit to yourself that you don’t want her,” Draco said haughtily, pushing Harry further back.

            “You started it.” It wasn’t entirely true with regards to today, but Draco had kissed Harry first last time, officially starting it.

            “I didn’t mean to start this.” Draco motioned to Harry’s groin and then to his own. If he wasn’t so flustered, he would’ve turned the blame back around on Harry, where it was due, but he _was_ flustered. He fussed with his covering, straightening the towel primly. He couldn’t let himself give into Harry again, or else Harry would never ditch the Weasley girl. He had to be strong and force Harry to choose.

            Harry raised his hand to Draco’s cheek, trying to catch Draco’s eyes, which were darting around the room and seemed determined to look at everything other than the wizard in front of his face. It was an intimate moment and Harry thought if he could just get Draco to look at him, he would snog the wizard senseless. But Draco didn’t look. Draco extricated himself from Harry, grabbed his clothes, and exited the loo with as much dignity as he could muster.

            Harry was left disappointed, but then his cock throbbed and an unsatisfied ache shot through his ballocks. He had no choice but to collapse there with his back against the door and wank. It took longer to chase his orgasm without Draco there. And if he did so while imaging the fullness that having a large cock inside him would bring, then it couldn’t be helped. He’d never thought about being filled like he filled Ginny, but now he did. He imagined it would feel very good. He came thinking about Draco, squirting cum all over the marble floor of the Malfoy’s Lake House loo.

            After cleaning up and dressing, Harry finally emerged from the loo to find Draco breastfeeding Leo. It was rare that Harry caught a glimpse of these private feeding moments between Draco and their son. His eyes were drawn instantly to Draco’s chest, Leo’s little hands cupped to either side of the breast he was suckling eagerly. The other nipple was red and tweaked and the breast behind it flatter, indicating that Leo had already suckled from that one. Draco looked up innocently as Harry entered, a smirk just forming on one side of his face. Draco grabbed a thin blanket, which he draped over his chest and nursing son. Harry, for his part, blushed a guilty red and went over to stare at Teddy, who was still sleeping in the playpen.

            “Erm…” Harry trailed off, not knowing what to say.

            Teddy was asleep, his empty bottle, which Draco must’ve fed him, in the tray of the pram. There was nothing to say or do there, so Harry would have to come up with some other distraction. Not finding one, he decided to take a risk and sat down next to Draco on the side where Leo was nursing, elbow and chubby little legs sticking out from under the blanket. “Can I watch? I’ve never seen it,” Harry said, turning into Draco and waving a hand in Leo’s direction.

            Draco nodded and moved the blanket over, to reveal Leo’s face. He kept his other side covered and tucked the blanket in around the baby, so only the bare minimum of one full breast was showing.

            The sight was mesmerizing to Harry and he leaned in to stroke Leo’s cheek as it suckled strongly on Draco’s tender flesh. He could feel strong jaw muscles and the inward flow of liquid. Leo’s little hands were firmly gripped to Draco’s chest, little green eyes darting up to look at Draco’s face or focused on pale skin, ensuring that the nipple stayed in place in his mouth.

            “He’s rather aggressive about it, isn’t he? Is he hurting you?” Harry asked.

            “A little. He’s always like this though.” Draco shrugged and ran his own hand through Leo’s black hair. “I’ve gotten used to it.”

            Harry let his hand follow Draco’s through Leo’s hair and when Draco’s hand stopped to rest on Leo’s back, Harry covered it with his own. He kept his hand there, over Draco’s pleasantly warm hand, and asked, “Can I ask you something?” Something told him that they were being honest with each other now and that he could ask what he couldn’t before.

            “That depends. What is it about?” Draco asked.

            “What do you think about muggles?” Harry asked. After the children’s book earlier in the week, he knew Draco was trying and wanted to teach Leo to be accepting of muggles, but he wanted to know what Draco actually thought.

            “I think it’s wrong to hurt or kill them. I don’t want anything to do with them, really. I want the whole war and fighting to go away. But I don’t want to hold hands and make friends either. I’m sick of the whole controversy. Why can’t we just find a peaceful way to separate ourselves from them, you know?”

            Harry nodded. He did know what it was like to long for peace. After surviving the war, he never wanted to go through that again. All of the death and carnage were off putting. Draco was still obviously coming from the other side of the debate, but decidedly more neutral. The mind was a difficult thing to change, although clearly Draco was moving in the right direction. Draco certainly wasn’t spouting the vitriol of his youth. “And what about muggleborns?”

            “The same. At the very least they should be educated differently. The first few years of Hogwarts felt unbearably elementary at times, because we purebloods had to wait for the teachers to explain basic magical concepts to the muggleborns. That’s when the resentment really started to build amongst us Slytherins. We shouldn’t have been made to sit through the same classes. Either separate the muggleborns out to teach them the basic material, or create some school special for them. Who knows, maybe the answer is to send them to some special school for a year or two before they are allowed to attend Hogwarts. But I’m sick of it all, you know? I’m sick to death of the politics. Let it be someone else’s problem. Whatever Minister Shacklebolt wants to do with the muggleborns, I don’t care anymore.”

            Harry nodded. Sometimes he felt like that himself. There was so much talk of politics and how they needed to reshape the magical world and regulate muggle relations that it was mind boggling. But at the end of the day, he still cared about what happened to muggleborns and muggles and how they were treated. He was still firmly a muggle-lover, while Draco clearly wasn’t. The change in Draco gave Harry hope that there was progress in changing pureblood opinions; if all purebloods decided that the only thing wrong with muggleborns was that they needed an extra year of schooling, then the world would be a better place.

            “Thank you for telling me. I’m really glad that when it comes to Leo, you are going to leave the muggle subject up to me. I want Leo to have the best of both of our qualities.”

            “And I don’t want him carrying around the Malfoy family baggage from the war. The most effective way to accomplish that is to identify proper role models and try to learn from them. With Leo, I can ask you. With anyone else, I will defer to my future husband. My parents and I agreed that officially we will stand behind whatever he says on anything involving the war or muggles. It shouldn’t be too hard; that’s not the sticking point with the marriage contract,” Draco continued, again mentioning Dane, just to see if it would make Harry jealous again.

            “What is?”

            Draco looked away. He paused a moment before answering, “My father.”

            Harry cleared his throat and asked, “How so?”

            “Er, he hasn’t made up his mind regarding certain details of the life he is arranging for me. He wants it both ways, but it can only be one. He is working on a solution.” Draco was still pissed at his father for trying to plan his life for him. He wasn’t some damsel in distress. He didn’t need to get married right this second. He could wait for love and do things the way he wanted to. So he wasn’t about to contribute to figuring out marriage contract terms both sides could agree on.

            “Why don’t you tell him what _you_ want? It’s your life.”

            “I want to leave him floundering. He has decided he is the authority in all things related to my life, including my homosexuality. I desire to leave him to it. Let him and Dane work out the mechanics.”

            Despite the vagueness of the reference, it clicked with something Ron had said and Harry guessed that Draco was talking about sex. Draco just wanted to sit back and watch his father struggle to script something that had nothing to do with Lucius and which Lucius had no experience with, nor knowledge about. “And what if they decide wrong?”

            “Then I _will_ say something. But as long as they haven’t figured out what I should do, I will leave them to it.” Draco was almost daring Dane to go along with his father, because then he’d have a valid excuse to dump the wizard. Well his father wouldn’t think so, but his mother would, and he had only to convince one of his parents to call off this arrangement.

            “I see,” Harry said, with a knowing smirk. It might be funny to watch and he would have to trust Draco to step in if Lucius made the wrong decisions. In fact he had the feeling that Draco might just wait until Lucius had everything all ironed out, before speaking up to cancel the whole thing, no matter what Lucius came up with. At least that was what Harry would do, if Lucius was planning his life.

            “Yes,” Draco confirmed.

            “Did he freak when he found out you were gay?” Harry asked.

            “Not exactly. He sort of said fine, as long as I am the wizard in the relationship. He was mad when he came home and found out I was pregnant though; he wanted my husband to carry the children. I think he thinks that makes me the wife.” Draco paused and Harry gave an understanding grunt. “It’s like having Leo makes me weak in his eyes, but I don’t know what else he expected me to do. He was in prison. My mother and I were left to fend for ourselves however we could. I didn’t know what else to do.”

            Harry wished his parents were still alive to say his feelings were fine. He didn’t envy Draco having Lucius, because not even Uncle Vernon was as horrible and domineering as Lucius Malfoy could be. But Lucius had accepted Draco and Harry wanted that acceptance for himself. He was increasingly realizing his feelings towards men and it would be nice to know that he would be loved regardless. He hadn’t yet told Ron or Hermione how he was feeling, so he couldn’t even guarantee their acceptance.

            “It’s for the best this way; now we have Leo. We wouldn’t have him otherwise, so I think you made the right decision,” Harry said reassuringly. He meant it too. He couldn’t imagine a life without Leo being able to compare to one with his son. Leo was a key part of the family he’d always wanted, the son he could love unconditionally, and a child with limitless potential. He felt the same way about Teddy too. His boys were his family.

            “Thanks,” Draco said with a smile. Not a smirk, but a full smile. 

            Harry watched the rest of the feeding in silence. The tender minutes ticked by as Harry appreciated how precious this time was to him and how thankful he was to Draco for finally letting him see it. It was like Draco was finally opening up to him.

            “Thank you for this,” Harry said as Leo’s mouth finally left Draco’s nipple with a pop, the suction breaking. The nipple was now red and tweaked in the shape of Leo’s mouth, and the breast flatter, just as the other one had been. There was even an impression of Leo’s gums indented in the tender skin.

            Draco quickly covered himself with the blanket and held Leo out to Harry with a, “Here. Feed him something solid, will you?”

            Harry took Leo with one hand and summoned a jar of baby food from the nappy bag with his other, while Draco dressed. It was green beans this time. Leo chomped down on the little spoonfuls of mush just as eagerly as he’d suckled from Draco’s breast.

            “He’s a good eater,” Harry commented, happy to be sharing in the feeding time. He’d fed Leo before, but after seeing Draco breastfeeding, it seemed more special somehow. It wasn’t intimate the way the nursing had been, but it was still a bonding moment.

            “Yes, that he is, PaPa,” Draco agreed, sitting back to watch Harry’s turn to feed their son.

            “How can he eat so much after drinking all of that milk?” As Harry spoke, he kept up the stream of food into Leo’s mouth.

            “He eats a lot. And breastfeeding seems to be slower than bottle feeding. Teddy sucked down his bottle in five minutes, but Leo is always thirty to forty-five minutes.”

            Harry hummed in agreement, not because he’d been there, but because he knew Draco was always gone at least that long for feedings.

            Leo swallowed and yawned, rubbing his eyes with his little fists as Harry returned the spoon to the jar for another bite.

            “He is tuckered out; I think he’ll pass out on us as soon as he finishes eating,” Draco replied. “Why don’t you go over to the house and see how much longer those Auror friends of yours plan on keeping us out?”

            Harry handed over the spoon and the nearly empty jar and complied. He knew perfectly well that the investigation at the Manor was wrapping up. He’d been given estimates of September first, but hadn’t passed them on to Draco, because the thought of Draco and Leo moving out of Grimmauld Place was unbearable. He wanted them to stay and he didn’t know how to go about making that known. Therefore he always put the conversation off by saying, “They’re working on it.” That is exactly what he did next, after taking a long walk around the grounds, exchanging a greeting and a few jokes with the Aurors on duty, and returning to the lake house; their earlier illicit activities pushed completely from his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Dane’s second date is coming up (although I haven’t decided if it will be next or not). Where would you send them and how would you have Harry find out about it? He could send Ron again, but I think it would come across better if Harry could actually find a way to see it for himself…So, do any of you have any ideas?  
> Please Review!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: The following chapter uses the N-word. I have been criticized in previous chapters for using it, but seeing as all but one of these critics (the mildest one, who admitted it was properly used) did not know the meaning of the word, I chose not to write a big author’s note about it. Then I was criticized for not making a note of it, so here it goes. When I write nappy, I mean nappy. Nappy does not mean curly, coily, kinky, or coarse. It happens more often to coarse, kinky, and or curly hair, but it is not coarse, kinky, curly hair in and of itself. To those who think it is, I find that assumption VERY offensive. Nappy means tangled or matted hair with little bits of lint in it that has not been washed or combed recently. But why would I say all that, when I have a convenient two-syllable, five lettered word that does the job just fine? If you go back to the chapter where I used it, the child in question was having her hair done that evening, making the use appropriate. Her hair was washed and combed sometime after arriving at Grimmauld Place and before Harry came home. Furthermore, I am offended by attempts to take our words and use them against us. To those of you who wish to use nappy in a derogatory fashion, I have this to say to you: you cannot have it, because I am using it. And I am about to use it again, so consider yourself warned.

            Ginny returned to the Burrow at noon on Saturday and Harry was among the crowd there to greet her. They had a big celebration lunch, in honor of her return and his birthday. Ginny’s friend Sydney wasn’t there, because she needed to spend the time with her own family after being away for a week. Ginny’s friend Alice was busy with her boyfriend. Therefore the only young witches and wizards there were Harry’s friends: Luna, Neville and his girlfriend Hannah, Seamus and his girlfriend Laura, and Dean and his girlfriend Parvati. Then the usual Weasley bunch was there, including Angelina by George’s side, Fleur by Bill’s, and Dromeda with Teddy.

            The one person that was missing was Hermione. There was an owl from her explaining that she had meant to return in time for Harry’s birthday, but an emergency had come up with her parents. She was making loads of progress and her parents’ memories had finally returned. Only most of those memories came crashing back in the last few days, so they were struggling with the revelation. Thus she had a lot to deal with and couldn’t possibly return this week, although she did promise to return soon.

            After the meal, they all migrated over to the yard to chat, abandoning the folding tables that were always used for large gatherings.

            “Gosh Gin, you and Harry both got quite the tan this week. I thought Harry wasn’t going with you,” Neville said.

            Up until that moment, everything had been going fine. But now Ginny turned to Harry, looking him up and down, and asked skeptically, “You _did_ get a tan, didn’t you? What have you been doing?”

            Thinking on the fly and using the lying skills they’d been honing in Auror training, Harry answered, “The boss surprised me yesterday. He sent me home early and you were still in France, so Draco suggested we take the boys to the lake.” He shrugged, trying to indicate that it was no big deal and he hadn’t had a hand in planning it. He deliberately kept from looking at Ron or Dromeda, knowing that they could give him away.

            “Oh. Why didn’t you spend the day with Ron instead?” Ginny asked in reply.

            “Robards didn’t give me the day off, only Harry,” Ron answered.

            “It was no big deal. Teddy cried most of the time anyway,” Harry added, exaggerating.

            “By the way, I wanted to thank you again for taking Teddy off of my hands yesterday. Fortuitously, it just so happened that I had a dear friend whose husband suddenly succumbed to his war injuries. I was glad that I could be there for her in her hour of need, since she had been with me when I lost Ted and again with Dora,” Dromeda added. It wasn’t entirely untrue, because they had known the gravely injured wizard was not going to be able to hold on much longer. She hadn’t known he would pass Thursday night and had just been planning on visiting him in hospital. It was unfortunate that she hadn’t gotten to see him one last time, but at least she was able to spend the day comforting her friend.

            With that, Ginny let the subject drop. George had a new experiment to show off and they all gathered around to watch.

            Harry found Ginny’s clingy presence annoying, but he did enjoy the presence of his closest friends. He spent most of the afternoon chilling with the guys and doing his best to avoid Ginny. That only worked when the Weasleys all turned their attention on Ginny, insisting on a recap of her entire vacation in the south of France. After hearing about it, Harry was even happier with the decision he’d made to skip it. All of that drinking and partying sounded so childish and boring in comparison to his week with Draco and Leo.

            The celebration continued through dinner and an after dinner Quidditch match. Ginny asked Harry to stay the night, since she was leaving the next day for Quidditch camp. Harry agreed and was about to spend the night in Ron’s bedroom, since her parents had decreed the ban on underage sex. But as he was getting ready for bed, he received an owl from Draco.

 

_-Harry_

_What are we going to do about Lughnasadh tomorrow? I’ve been so busy worrying about my upcoming date with Dane that I overlooked Lughnasadh and assumed someone was planning it. It’s Leo’s first Lughnasadh and I just found out that my Aunt Dromeda does not celebrate it anymore and my grandmothers and extended family are all going back to Austria for the day. Dane invited us to attend it with him and the Shacklebolts, but I don’t want Leo around Dane yet. Do you have anything planned? Otherwise I think I will have to take Leo by portkey to Austria first thing in the morning. Please write me back_ immediately, _or we will take the first portkey to Austria, at five a.m._

_-Draco_

 

            Harry had been hoping to get through the weekend with Ginny without the subject of Draco coming up. She was only here until Sunday afternoon. At this point he’d been away from Draco for just under ten hours. He didn’t know what Lughnasadh was, how to pronounce it, or why it was important, so he didn’t know how urgent this was. But he did know that if he did nothing, his son would be out of his reach come the morning. Thus he turned to Ron, his expert in all things pureblood. Luckily, Ron was in the same room, rummaging through his chest of drawers looking for a pair of clean pajamas.

            “Ron, what is Lug-hans-ad?” Harry asked.

            “What?” Ron asked.

            “Luug-han-saad?” Harry tried again.

            “I’ve no idea what you’re saying, honestly mate. Do you have to sneeze or something?”

            “Here, it’s in this letter Draco wrote me.” Harry handed over the letter, pointing to the word he apparently couldn’t pronounce.

            “LOO-nə-sə,” Ron said. “It’s a Celtic festival. One of the most holy days of the year, according to them.” Then he read the rest of the letter.

            “Oh.”

            When Ron finished reading, he looked up at Harry and said, “You’re in deep Hippogriff dung mate. If Draco is Celtic, and by this letter it seems he is, you _have_ to celebrate this thing with him and Leo tomorrow. But Ginny is leaving tomorrow, and if you aren’t here to see her off, you’re gonna be in deep with her too.”

            “What sort of holiday is it?” Harry asked, crossing his fingers and hoping it was a night thing. If it was a dinner, then he could see Ginny off and rush straight to Loonesay with Draco and Leo.

            “It’s the festival of the harvest season.”

            “What does that mean, exactly?”

            “It’s a religious festival! You know, a huge gathering with feasting, sport, prayer, and stuff. I always wanted to go to one when I was littler, because they sacrifice a bull in the morning and then they cook it and eat it for dinner.”

            “So what would happen if I show up after we see Ginny off?”

            “Well according to this letter, there will be nothing for you to show up to by then. Your kid will be in Austria, probably guarded under the Malfoy’s Fidelius.”

            “Fuck….How mad do you think Draco will be if I miss this?”

            “Knowing Draco, very. It’d be like missing Christmas.”

            “Alright, let me go home and talk to him. If I don’t come back, make some excuse about work to Ginny.”

            “Yeah, I’ll tell her you were finally allowed on one of their clandestine Death-Eater captures,” Ron agreed.

            And with that settled, Harry summoned his things and rushed down the stairs to the floo. When he arrived home, Draco was alone in the drawing room, listening to horrible Celtic music. That was unusual, because Draco usually had good taste in music.

            “Where’s Leo?” Harry asked, setting his things down on the sofa.

            “Asleep. I’m such an awful parent. I can’t believe I have not figured out what we are doing for Lughnasadh and it’s tomorrow,” Draco answered.

            “No you’re not. I didn’t even know about Looneysay,” Harry replied.

            “I take it you are not Celtic then,” Draco replied.

            “Church of England.”

            “The Potters were Celtic.”

            “I was raised by muggles.”

            “Right.”

            “Right, so what do I need to do?” Harry asked.

            Draco sighed. “There are only two choices, really. Either we go to the festival the Shacklebolts are throwing, which would mean there is a good chance Dane will meet Leo, or we portkey to Austria and spend it with my family.”

            “Am I welcome with your family?”

            “You are, if I say you are.”

            “And what about the rest of your family? What will they say?”

            “My father will not be terribly pleased by it; Grandmother Black too for that matter. I cannot see Mother or Grandmother Malfoy minding though. The Crabbes, Rosiers, and Smiths may have a problem with it, since they lost men in the war. We are probably better off going to the Shacklebolt Lughnasadh instead. You can watch Leo for me whenever Dane comes over.”

            “Look Draco, I want to go with you, but if my presence means you can’t be with your family, then I think it would be better for you and Leo if I don’t go.” While Harry was talking, Draco turned his head, breaking the eye contact. “You haven’t seen any of them, besides your mum, in months. I don’t have any family, so it’s important that Leo maintains the connection to your family. And I really can’t take Monday off from work; not after I took Friday off. If you portkey to Austria in the morning, then you won’t be able to portkey back until Monday.”

            When Harry finished, Draco rose from his seat and ran from the room, going upstairs into his bedroom. He slammed and locked the door behind him for good measure, letting Harry know he was upset.

            Harry sighed and followed after, knocking on the door. “Draco, what’s wrong?”

            “You clearly have no interest in Celtic holidays. You’ll probably try to bring Leo up according to the Church of England,” Draco answered through the door. His voice wasn’t quite right, a little high pitched and breathy, as if he was trying not to cry.

            “Look, I really don’t care if you want to bring Leo up Celtic. It’s just this is the first I’m hearing about it and I don’t see how I can fix things on such short notice,” Harry replied.

            “You could go with us to the Shacklebolts’.”

            “The only Shacklebolt I know is Kingsley. It seems a little weird to crash your boyfriend’s family thing.”

            “He’s not my boyfriend.”

            “He’s not?” Harry asked surprised. He thought that was what all of the dates were about.

            “No. He is my suitor. It is a step below boyfriend.”

            “Right, well it still seems weird to me to go to your suitor’s family’s thing.”

            “But Shacklebolt is Minister for Magic; the entire country is invited to his family’s thing.”

            “They are?”

            “Yes, even the Weasleys.”

            That gave Harry an idea: maybe he could take Ginny along with him. “Even Ginny?”

            “Not if Leo is there.”

            That let the air right out of Harry’s sails. Of course he couldn’t merge the two halves of his life. They were separate for a reason and they needed to remain that way. “Listen, is there any way I could come for only part of this thing? Ginny’s train leaves at three and I promised to see her off. I could come after.”

            There was a long silence before Draco answered, “Alright.”

            “Great!” Harry replied with a smile.

            “As long as you find someone to help me keep Dane away from Leo.”

            “What about Dromeda?”

            “She said she turned her back on the Celtic religion when the purebloods turned their backs on her.”

            Well that was inconvenient, but not a game ender. “Let me think about it. I need to send some owls and see what I can do. What time does it start?”

            “It starts at six in the morning, with the sacrifice of the bull, but Leo and I will _not_ be attending that part. We will arrive around eight,” Draco replied, still on the other side of the door.

            “Alright, I’ll have an answer for you by eight,” Harry said and that settled the matter.

            Harry went downstairs and began to think. Seamus and Angelina instantly came to mind as possibilities, since they were related to the Shacklebolts. He sent their letters off first. Then he got to thinking that since everyone was invited, he might as well send a letter to Neville, because it didn’t hurt to have three requests out. He didn’t have an owl left for that letter, so he sent it off with Kreacher to deliver. Then he went up to his own bed and fell asleep thinking that tomorrow just might work out after all.

            Draco was up early the next morning packing the nappy bag with everything Leo might possibly need for their day out. Harry tried to sleep in, because he’d been up late, but he was awoken by Kevin, the owl, with a letter. It was from Angelina and said that she would be happy to help Draco with Leo. Harry sent back a reply with his thanks and then went downstairs to find Draco and Leo in the kitchen.

            There wasn’t any food in front of Draco, but there was a bowl of baby cereal in front of Leo. The cereal was watery and runny, with a consistency similar to bogeys. But the baby seemed to like it, eagerly chomping down the bites as Draco spooned them in.

            “Where’s yours?” Harry asked groggily. He never would’ve been up this early on a Sunday if he’d stayed the night with the Weasleys.

            “I am going to eat there. Do you need Kreacher to make you something?” Draco asked in reply. He paused in his task of feeding Leo momentarily to ask this, but resumed when Leo whined in protest.

            “No, I’m not hungry yet. I’ll eat with the Weasleys.”

            “Good, then you can feed Leo while I make sure I have everything.” Draco passed the spoon over and Harry took it.

            “Angelina owled. She’ll help you with Leo,” Harry said, cringing at the gross looking cereal. “What’s in this mush, anyway?”

            “Oats, breastmilk, and apricots,” Draco answered. Harry cringed at the list of ingredients, but continued feeding it to their son without comment. “Angelina, good. And you’ll be there after three?” Draco didn’t look up from the nappy bag as he spoke, instead intent on his rummaging for items. When he did look up, it was to summon extra nappies from the nursery.

            “A bit after three, but by half past three for sure.”

            “Good.” Then Draco summoned half a dozen additional things, such as spare clothes, bibs, baby spoons, and jars of puree.

            Meanwhile Leo dipped his hand into the bowl and then licked it off himself. Thinking this behavior cute, Harry let his son. He summoned his camera and began to take photos of Leo making a mess out of breakfast. Cereal was getting all over Leo’s highchair, face, bib, and clothing. Then Leo lifted the bowl and tried to drink the bowl of cereal as if it were a cup of tea. Some of it landed on his outstretched tongue, some of it coated the fringes of his black hair, but most of it went down his front, onto his bib and underlying pajamas. Harry snapped the photos quicker now, trying to hold back his laughter, in order to keep the camera steady. Leo laughed and let the bowl fall back onto his tray with a thunk. Then Leo looked down, noticed the spilt cereal on his lap, and reached a hand down to scoop some up.

            Draco looked up at the unexpected sounds, realized what was going on, and complained loudly, “Harry! What in Merlin’s name are you doing to my baby!?! I told you to feed him, not bathe him in oats!”

            “Yeah, but I got it on film,” Harry answered proudly, bursting out into a fit of giggles towards the end.

            “This is _not_ funny! This is how seriously you take Lughnasadh? You aren’t even going for most of it and you ruin it before it even starts!” The anger in Draco’s voice started Leo off crying. “You _better_ fix this. His hair is worse than nappy and I’m already dressed.” Draco’s voice was softer now, but the angry threat was still apparent in his tone.

            Harry vanished the cereal and did a quick cleaning charm. “Alright, I will, calm down.” He was removing the tray and straps now, in preparation for picking the crying baby up. Then he cradled Leo to his chest, swaying back and forth, and murmured, “Ssh, it’s okay Lion, shush now. Papa has you and Father isn’t mad at you. He’s mad at me. He could never be mad at you.”

            “PaPa,” Draco corrected.

            “Huh?” Harry asked, looking up from the quieting baby.

            “Your name is PaPa. That is how we British pronounce it. Papa is how they say it in Austria.”

            “Right, well I can be Austrian then. I like Papa better.”

            “Whatever, but you _better_ be planning on fixing his hair, because there is still cereal in it. It’s like naps, but with grains instead of lint.”

            “Does he need the full bath too?”

            “We do not have time.”

            “Well are you going to help me wash it?”

            “No, I’m already dressed, but I will hand you supplies,” Draco offered generously

            And so it was. They trudged up to the nursery where Harry stripped Leo and Draco prepared the tub. Harry washed and rinsed Leo’s hair as quickly as possible and ran the washcloth over the baby’s face and under the chin for good measure. Then Draco handed over a towel and Harry set to drying Leo, while Kreacher cleaned up, and Draco pulled out a set of clean clothes. They were the nicest set of dress robes they had for Leo. The robes even came with a matching nappy cover, in case they came up while the baby crawled.

            Leo was soon dressed and ready to go, except for his hair. Draco handed Harry over a silver baby brush and comb set, which Harry took warily.

            “I thought we agreed that I wasn’t going to try this again?” Harry asked.

            “Yes, but then _you_ went and put cereal in his hair. You know, I like to reminisce about that time I stomped on your nose whenever I comb his hair,” Draco replied.

            Surprisingly, Harry could relate, after the first and only time he’d tried to get the tangles out of Leo’s hair for Draco. That day Draco had shoved the comb at him, said, “Here, you fix this. It’s your fault anyway. There should be a law against passing on Potter hair to perfectly good Malfoy babies,” and Harry had made the mistake of agreeing to give it a go. Leo had screamed like he was being tortured and his hair looked even worse combed. Harry had suggested giving the baby a buzz cut, to eliminate the need for the daily ordeal, but Draco had balked at the idea. In the end, Harry returned the comb to Draco and said he was never trying that again. Draco had scowled at being left to do something about the Potter hair, but managed a decent look by artfully tousling the black locks just so.

            “Yeah, well I don’t even like combing my own hair and if I do it, he will not be in the mood for Looneysay,” Harry retorted.

            “It’s Lughnasadh, PaPa.” Draco sighed, shrugged his shoulders, and added, “But I guess I could give that combing spell a shot. It’s bloody complicated though.”

            “You’ve been learning the combing spell too? Not just the braiding one?” Harry asked surprised.

            “Yes, but if it goes wrong, it hurts worse than anything you could do with a comb.”

            “I’ll get the baby willow bark potion,” Harry offered and Draco nodded.

            Leo was strapped into the rocking horse Harry had purchased, in hopes of distracting him from what was to come. Harry administered the potion and then held Leo’s head still. Draco practiced the motion of the spell a few times, took a deep breath, and then cast. Amazingly it worked the first try. All of the tangles disappeared, leaving Leo’s hair straight and smooth. It was actually lying flat, which was something it never did when combed.

            “Wow! Will it stay like that?” Harry asked.

            “Only with the proper hair stasis charm, which I do not know. But it is good enough for now and I can have Angelina fix it when we get there. Now that the oat naps are out, he’s presentable enough to travel,” Draco answered.

            “Well if Dane’s family is going to teach you, then I don’t think those hair combing lessons are useless after all.”

            “I am so glad you approve. Maybe they can even help with your nappy hair,” Draco replied sarcastically. “Now, we have to go, or I will miss breakfast.”

            Draco scooped Leo up, slung the nappy bag over his shoulder, and disappeared through the floo in the drawing room.

            Harry followed after, but headed to the Weasleys instead. Molly was the only one awake, so he helped her make pancakes and sausages, while telling her about his morning.

            As she cooked, Molly Weasley explained, “There is a big divide among wizardkind. Celtic and the other older religions that worship nature and ancestors are favored by the blood purists. Muggleborns are always Church of England or some other similar religion. Both the Weasleys and the Prewetts were originally Celtic—all the ancient pureblood families were—but the Weasleys decided to take up the muggle religion ages ago. They had so many squibs and muggleborns in the family it was just easier. And my mum was a halfblood, whose mother was Church of England, so I grew up Church of England. We still know the basics of the Celtic religion, but we do not celebrate it.”

            “Oh. Next time one of their holy days is coming up, could you warn me well in advance? I think Draco was upset with me for missing this,” Harry said.

            “Sure can do. The next one is Halloween and the day after. Everyone in the Wizarding World celebrates Halloween, but only the Celtics celebrate the feast of the dead the following day,” Molly replied and then proceeded to tell Harry as much as she knew about the rituals worshipping their ancestors that were part of the holiday.

            The Weasley family woke up to the smell of breakfast and gathered around the table. There were only five of them left, since George had gone home with Angelina and Bill with Fleur. Bill and Percy would return today to see Ginny off, but George would be attending the Lughnasadh festival with his girlfriend. Ginny seemed rather smug about the fact that Harry had chosen to spend the day with her, rather than go to the festival. Harry, for his part, kept quiet as he gulped down his food. Despite his unfamiliarity with Lughnasadh, he did regret having to miss half of it to spend time with his fiancé.

            The morning past in a blur as Harry helped Ginny unpack from the trip to France and repack for the trip to Quidditch camp. There was a large pile of laundry that had to be washed, folded, and repacked, and her broom and Quidditch gear had to be retrieved from her school trunk. In addition to the chores, he was required to listen to her boring tales of the vacation in the south of France and to answer her questions about his week without her. He made sure to make his week sound far more arduous and boring than it had actually been.

            When three O’clock rolled around, Harry was so pleased with getting rid of Ginny for another week that he dutifully endured the public parting kiss on the platform of the train station. He waved Ginny off and as soon as the train started down the track, he apparated straight to the Shacklebolt estate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that that is done, I’m off to do something about all the naps in my daughter’s hair…. It has made the transition from tangled to matted, so I think I will call in some professional help.  
> Harry had succeeded in getting rid of Ginny for another week. Up next will be Lughnasadh with the Shacklebolts. I think that will be a better way for Harry to see and overhear some of the interaction between Draco and Dane than the date.  
> Please Review!


	23. Chapter 23

            The Shacklebolts owned a large manor house in the country. It had a sprawling yard, guarded from muggles by thick forest, and every inch seemed to be filled. There were a great many witches, wizards, and children roaming the grounds that were set up like a town fair. Looking at the mob, Harry thought finding Draco would be all but impossible. He was groaning at the task ahead of him when Kreacher appeared with a pop.

            “Honorable Master Draco has asked Kreacher to bring Master Harry to him,” Kreacher said with a bow.

            “Brilliant. Where is he?” Harry asked.

            “Accepting his award for his superb seeker abilities,” Kreacher answered, turning to lead the way and signaling Harry with the motion of his hand over his boney shoulder.

            “He’s playing Quidditch? Here?” Harry asked another as he followed.

            “Yes, while Master Leo is napping.”

            Kreacher led Harry towards a large clearing in the back of the house, where another Quidditch match was already underway. Draco was at the judges table, having just received his gold medal on a bright blue ribbon, which was hung around his neck. The judges ushered Draco to stand over towards the left and pose for a photo. Draco hammed it up by kissing his medal as the flash went off. Full of energy, Draco then noticed Harry and ran the short distance between them.

            “Harry! You missed it! I caught the snitch in record time. Three minutes in and it just appeared right in front of me. They said that there was no way anyone would beat that today, so they might as well hand over my medal now,” Draco said excitedly, wrapping an affectionate arm around Harry. His smile was from ear to ear and he looked like he’d been having a blast.

            Harry had played Quidditch yesterday and had manage to catch the snitch himself. Normally he would’ve said he had it better, because he’d played with the Weasleys, whom he loved. But he didn’t get a medal, his photo taken, or a chance to go up against Draco. The medal and the photo were not what bothered him. He wanted to be happy for Draco, but he was just a tad bit jealous.

            “Great! So Leo’s only been down for a nap for a few minutes then?” Harry asked, trying to hide his jealousy.

            “Salazar no, he should be up any minute now. I’ve been doing all sorts of things without him. Dane and I went on the Farris wheel, the tilt-o-squid, and the tunnel of frog spawn. Oh you should have seen it! Dane was playing seeker opposite me! He was swearing up and down that I didn’t stand a chance, because he was the best seeker in his time at Hogwarts. Said he caught every single snitch there was and his only competition was someone named Charlie Weasley. Is he related to your Weasleys?”

            “Yes, he’s one of Ron’s older brothers. Where’s Dane now?”

            “He went off sulking and then signed himself up for another Quidditch match. It’s the only chance he has of beating my score. He won’t though. I doubt even you could beat three minutes, two seconds to the snitch.”

            The competitive part of Harry wanted to argue that point, borrow a broom, and sign himself up for the next match. And if he’d be going off against Dane, then all the better. Hearing that Draco had played against Dane made the jealous part of him swell and threaten to turn feral. In that moment, he could understand why a caveman might beat Dane over the head with a club and keep Draco all to himself. He didn’t have a club, but he could beat Dane to the snitch. “Where do I sign up?”

            “You aren’t signing up. You and I are going to pick our son up from the nursery and take him to that goldfish thing over there.” Here Draco pointed to the lawn Harry had passed through to get there. “You throw a pebble and if it lands in the bowl, you win a fish. They say it’s muggle, so you must know how to play. Leo wanted one and I promised him you would win him one,” Draco explained, pulling on Harry’s arm and leading him off in the direction of the house.

            “I’ve actually never been to a muggle fair. I’d love a bit of Quidditch though.”

            “Tough. You should have been here at the beginning of naptime, then. We are winning our son a fish that will die in two days and that is final.”

            “Are you sure he wants one? He can’t exactly ask for one, now can he?”

            “He was whining and reaching out in the direction of the fish, Harry.”

            “Well he’s forgotten about it now, hasn’t he?”

            “Stop being an arse. You missed half the event, so now you get to live with the consequences.”

            “I didn’t know it was going to be all this.” Harry moved his arms around to indicate the scale of the event. “Do your parents do all of this too?”

            “Not this big, but yes. This is the Ministry’s Lughnasadh, so everyone who doesn’t have their own to go to, comes here. It’s always the biggest of them all. My parents often hosted the official pureblood Lughnasadh, but this year they are doing a smaller one, just for family,” Draco answered.

            Harry followed Draco into the grand manor house and through a series of rooms that looked like they could belong in Malfoy Manor, only with darker toned portraits on the walls. They found a still sleeping baby on the second floor in a drawing room set up with cribs. The child’s head was turned, so all they could see were the fancy dress robes and the back of the head that was covered with spiraling black cornrows, allowing a pale scalp to show through.

            “He’s still asleep,” Draco whispered.

            “Wrong kid. That must be one of Kingsley’s relatives. Does Mary have a little brother?” Harry asked in a whisper, indicating the head of braided black hair. The robes may have been identical to the ones Leo had left wearing, but it was possible that another child had the same set.

            “It’s Mairi and no, she does not have a brother. That is Leo. Mother Morowa did his hair for me this morning.”

            “That can’t be Leo.”

            “Yes, it can. Remember I did the combing spell, but didn’t know a spell to keep it like that?” Draco asked softly and Harry nodded. “Well when I came through the floo, Mother Morowa greeted us and then braided his hair in about five seconds. He didn’t even cry and it has stayed perfect all day.”

            At this point the witch in charge of the nursery silently motioned for them to follow her out into the hallway.

            Once the introductions and blushing at meeting the famous Harry Potter were out of the way, Nurse Braddock said, “Your little guy has been asleep almost the entire time. He woke up half an hour after you left him and made a mess of his nappy, but once it was done, he went right back down.”

            “He did fall asleep earlier than usual. He normally goes before he goes down for his nap, but I guess all of the activity this morning tuckered him out,” Draco replied.

            “Well it’s done with now and he’s sleeping peacefully. You can go back to the festivities. I will signal you when he wakes,” Nurse Braddock replied.

            Harry and Draco thanked the nurse and took one more look at Leo, Harry peering over the sleeping child to verify that the face attached to the braided head was actually Leo’s. It was, which Harry felt was rather surreal. Dane’s family was already taking over and Harry did not like that one bit. Yes, he disliked it when Leo suffered at the end of a non-magical comb, but braiding his son’s hair he felt was going a little too far. He preferred the tangled-rat’s nest look.

            Draco led them downstairs. “Are you hungry?” he asked, entering the front room, which was set up with buffet tables filled with treats.

            “Merlin no, I’ve just been at the Weasleys. Molly never lets anyone go hungry. But those desserts do look good…” Harry answered, eyeing the treacle tart.

            “Go ahead. Better eat now than let Leo see us eating this when he can’t have it,” Draco replied, snatching up a small slice of cheesecake, covering it with berries, and adding a scoop of ice cream.

            Harry followed suit with the treacle tart and they were soon sitting outside on the front lawn, eating their sweets. They were only there a few minutes when Dane came up behind Draco with a large smile.

            “Draco, guess who just caught the snitch?” Dane asked, bright white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

            “Not in less time than I did. It took longer than that for them to produce my medal, record my name, and snap my photo,” Draco replied teasingly.

            “Who were you playing against? Some old war veteran?” Harry asked, feeling the jealous monster inside him rage. It suddenly occurred to him that Draco had just spent the last several hours having a blast at a fair with Dane, while he’d been doing chores with Ginny. He wanted to be the one having fun with Draco all day and send Dane off to placate Ginny. It wasn’t fair and he gritted his teeth, as he stopped himself from doing something he would regret to Draco’s suitor.

            “No, some witch named Cho Chang. And I caught it in just under thirty minutes, which is second place,” Dane answered.

            “So far. Let me have a shot at it and thirty minutes will be third place,” Harry replied.

            “Leo will be awake in less time than that,” Draco answered.

            “Speaking of which, Harry, I was wondering if you would watch Leo for Draco here, so that I can steal him away for a bit. I want a chance to go over our marriage contract somewhere private and my uncle has graciously permitted us the use of a study on the third floor,” Dane said.

            Draco looked at Harry expectantly, waiting for the answer.

            “I thought Draco wasn’t allowed to be alone with you. It’s improper,” Harry replied. Hah, he could speak pureblood too, if it meant keeping Dane away from Draco.

            “There is a house full of people and I’ll leave the silencing charms off. If I do something he doesn’t like, he can scream and the entire Wizarding World will come running,” Dane answered.

            “How about it Harry? It won’t take long,” Draco said.

            “What about Angelina? She said she’d watch Leo?” Harry asked.

            “She’s been helping me all morning. When Leo went down for his nap, she went off with her Weasley boyfriend. Said his name was Gred and he only had one ear,” Draco answered.

            “That would be George. Don’t worry, that one isn’t your fault; he really does introduce himself as that sometimes. Although, it was funnier when Fred was there saying his name was Forge,” Harry replied.

            “Right, so Angelina is off with Fred?” Draco asked and Harry shook his head. “George?” Harry nodded. “George, which is why we would need you to watch Leo for half an hour.”

            “I thought we were going to win him a fish?” Not that Harry wanted a goldfish, but he wanted Draco for himself.

            “We will do that first. Later though, before they serve the dinner, you can feed Leo something, while Dane and I take care of a bit of business. It won’t take us long and you can handle a bit of puree.” Draco narrowed his eyes then, remembering how well Harry had handled breakfast. “On second thought, maybe you cannot. If you let him have the spoon and the bowl and we have to leave early, it will be you we roast next, after they take the bull off.”

            “I promise not to,” Harry replied.

            “Good, because those are his best clothes….I’ll change him into something else not quite so nice anyway, just in case,” Draco replied. While he was talking, a flashing light started going off in his pocket. He took the small object, a silver coin, out now and showed it to Harry. “We have to go; Leo is awake.”

            And with that, Dane was dismissed and Harry and Draco were off to fetch their son. Leo was a bit whiney and kept rooting around, as if he was hungry. Nurse Braddock showed them to an empty guest bedroom where Draco nursed the baby and let Harry watch. Draco covered himself with a blanket for most of it, but still, he let Harry stay in the same room. This was something new that had only happened one other time since that first time Draco had let Harry watch on his birthday. That it was happening again made Harry feel privileged and special, as if Draco was trusting him with something very precious.

            Having been fed prior to the nap, Draco didn’t think Leo would be ready for a full feeding. He was wrong, because that was just what Leo wanted. Apparently the baby was hungry today. “Well at least I won’t have to nurse him again before supper,” Draco said forty minutes later, handing Leo off to Harry to burp while he adjusted his clothing back into place.

            And then they were finally ready to go back down to the festivities. They did the fish thing first, both of them winning a fish for Leo, which they called Kreacher to fetch. Then they went over to the children’s section, on the opposite side lawn, and watched a puppet show. After that they rode a miniature train around the grounds, which dropped them off right back where they’d gotten on: the children’s section.

            They finished with a walk around the maze of aquariums that had been brought in for the day, each filled with either brightly colored muggle fish or magical fish. Leo seemed to like that, often whining as he was pulled away from one tank and hushing when they settled him in front of the next. The real trouble was when they reached the end of the maze and were trying to take Leo to the dining area set up on the front lawn. Leo whined and cried, even after Draco finished changing him into play clothes, sat him in the highchair, and pulled out a jar of mashed sweet potatoes, which were one of Leo’s favorites. On any other day, this would have been enough to distract Leo and make the baby forget. Unfortunately, they could still see the fish sign at the aquarium exit from the table area. The fish were not entirely out of sight and therefore weren’t off Leo’s mind.

            “Do you want some yummy potatoes, Leo?” Harry asked.

            Leo shook his head and said, “Ish! Ish!” and then proceeded to cry.

            “I think he’s saying fish,” Harry announced. Leo had said it several times as they were going through the maze and looking at the fish, but it wasn’t until now that Harry made the connection.

            “Right, well feed him some fish then, but I promised to meet Dane,” Draco said, looking from his watch to the house and then back to Leo. “Puree it first though, make sure you remove all of the bones, and nothing spicy.”

            “You can’t leave me like this! I don’t know how to calm him,” Harry protested. He didn’t even know the pureeing spell or where to acquire cooked fish, although he thought there was a good chance Draco was kidding about that. Draco was very particular when it came to introducing new foods to Leo. Table food was never allowed and they had yet to give the baby meat of any kind.

            “You leave me alone with him every day while you go to work and then again when you go off with your friends and your girlfriend. Take him back to the aquariums and feed him,” Draco replied.

            “Well help me move the highchair at least,” Harry replied, trying to stall. The last thing he wanted was to let Draco go off and formalize a marriage contract with Dane.

            “Oi you, Longbottom, isn’t it?” Draco asked, calling across the square of picnic tables to where Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott were sitting deep in a hushed conversation. Being well after lunch time and over an hour yet before dinner, there were not many people in this area, so his voice had no problem traveling across the separating thirty feet. There was a lot of whispering in each other’s ear between the lovebirds, which as far as Draco was concerned, meant it was nothing he couldn’t interrupt.

            Neville looked up, face flushed from being caught in the middle of his romantic wooing, and a good bit surprised that Draco Malfoy was calling for him. He’d gotten Harry’s letter and had therefore offered Draco his help with Leo that morning, but Draco already had Angelina Johnson to help, and had brushed him off. He’d gotten the feeling he was not wanted and so was surprised Draco was calling for him now. “Yes?” he asked hesitantly.

            “I need to go and Harry has issues with shoveling food into our son’s mouth. This morning he missed and dumped the bowl on poor Leo’s head,” Draco started to say, but Harry interrupted him here.

            Neville and Hannah stood and started making their way closer to the little family.

            “I did not! Leo did that. I merely captured the moment on film,” Harry defended himself.

            “Right, same thing. Anyway, can you _please_ help him get the food _into_ Leo’s _mouth_ and not _onto_ Leo’s _hair or clothes_?” Draco asked, flashing Neville a smile he meant to be winning, but Neville found frightening.

            Now Hannah was settling herself onto the bench of the table next to the one Harry, Draco, and Leo were sitting at. Neville took up position standing behind her, his hand resting on her shoulder.

            “You are leaving out the fact that he’s still screaming about the fish,” Harry protested.

            “Yes, and do all of this back at the aquarium,” Draco added, pointing towards the side yard.

            “Um, sure?” Neville asked, wondering if this was some strange dream, due to the odd nature of the request.

            “Great! See you at dinner. Be good for PaPa, Leo,” Draco said, pressing a kiss to Leo’s crying head, before taking off in the direction of the house.

            Harry couldn’t believe he was being left like this. Draco didn’t even like Neville as far as he knew.

            “Um, so Harry, what do you need me and Hannah to do?” Neville asked.

            “Watch my kid so that I can spy on Draco?” Harry asked.

            “To stop your child from crying,” Hannah put in pointedly.

            “Oh, right. Here, hold the tray and food and stuff and I’ll pick him up.” As Harry spoke he handed over the jar, spoon, and nappy bag to Hannah and the tray to Neville, before retrieving Leo. Then he snapped the tray back on the Ministry provided highchair and said, “Right, so Neville, if you could just carry that and Hannah, if you could both follow me, I will show you where Leo wants to be.”

            Neville and Hannah complied, following Harry and Leo back towards the children’s section and into the aquarium maze. Leo stopped crying immediately as they entered the maze.

            “Anywhere here is good,” Harry said, motioning with his chin for Neville to put the highchair down.

            Neville did as directed and Leo was quickly reinserted into the highchair again, this time much happier about the situation. Hannah added the jar and spoon to the tray, but Harry reached out and quickly pulled them out of reach of the baby, leaving them on the very edge of the tray.

            “So do either of you have any experience with babies?” Harry asked and they both nodded. “Feeding babies?”

            “Duck?” Neville joked.

            “Guck!” Leo echoed, looking up and then back and forth rapidly, looking for a duck. When none was spotted, he went back to his fish.

            “Hey, he can say duck!” Neville exclaimed excitedly.

            “And ish and pa and awhoo,” Harry added.

            “Huh?” Hannah asked.

            “Fish, papa, and owl. Ish is fish. Anyway, I really do need to spy on Draco, like right now. This is critically important. Just don’t let Leo have the spoon or the jar and keep the food out of his hair at all cost. Draco will skin me alive if Leo has food in his hair when he gets back,” Harry said, eyeing the intricate spiral of braids. It was so odd seeing his son with such a different hairstyle, but he was growing to like it. Hopefully having the hair held down and out of the way like that would reduce the amount of food that got in it. If that was the case, then Harry could see the benefit in trading the natural style for this new one.

            “So Draco left you to take care of your child and you are going to leave him with us, to go spy on Draco?” Hannah asked and Harry agreed. “Men, typical.”

            “Does that mean you’ll do it?” Harry asked.

            “Yeah, sure,” Neville answered.

            Harry was already jogging away as Hannah said to Neville, “You better not _ever_ do this to our children after we get married.”

            “Of course not,” Neville agreed.

            As Harry ran, he pulled his invisibility cloak out of the pocket of his robes, thankful that he’d stashed it there this morning before heading to the Weasleys. He’d figured he might need it in order to avoid the paparazzi for this event, but it was equally handy when it came to spying missions. He ran into George and Angelina, laden with plates of sweets, towards the front door to the house and stopped in his tracks. “George, you don’t happen to have a pair of extendable ears on you, do you?” he asked.

            “Of course. I always keep a pair on me, Harry, you know that,” George answered, pulling a pair out of his pocket.

            “Thanks. You’re a life saver. Oh, and don’t tell Draco about this,” Harry said, before rushing into the house.

            He put the cloak on in an empty room and then went in search of Draco and Dane, using the extendable ears to listen into closed rooms along the way. If he heard nothing or the voices of the wrong people, he moved on. He finally found his query behind a closed door on the third floor.

            “This part here…and then there is this part over here…it doesn’t match,” Dane’s deep voice carried easily through the set of extendable ears.

            “Got you,” Harry whispered to himself, settling in to listen and making sure his cloak covered all of him, in case someone passed by. That was unlikely, because this floor appeared to be otherwise deserted.

            “I filled out that there. My father did that down there. As long as my requirements are met, I don’t care. You’ll have to work that bottom bit out with my father,” Draco said, his voice also coming through loud and clear.

            “But there is no way to satisfy both.”

            “Not my problem. I’m not the one making the contract. As long as that bit up there is satisfied in reality, my father can write about that bit down there all he wants. He can release that bit to the papers in an official statement for all I care.”

            “Oh, riiight, I got you. Let the old man think what he wants.”

            “Exactly.” There was a long pause and then Draco changed the subject, “Let’s go over our lists. Have you done all of these things on this list?”

            “All of the ones in the right column, only these up here on the left.”

            “Are you still doing any of these with anyone other than me?”

            “No.”

            “When was the last time you did any of these things with someone else?”

            “Right before I started courting you,” Dane answered.

            Draco harrumphed in response, but continued, “Who was it with?”

            “Mason, but it wasn’t serious. There is no potential for a marriage agreement between our families.”

            “Do you foresee a repeat of these activities with Mason, or anyone else, in the future?”

            “No. I told him that I needed to break it off, because I have a serious marriage prospect in the works. It was just sex with him.”

            “Right…My father might want to talk to you about that.” Harry’s ears perked up at the mention of Lucius.

            “And you? Do you want to talk to me about it?”

            “No.”

            “Why not?”

            “This marriage contract is my father’s business. I trust him to resolve any conflicts of interest.”

            “Leave it to the old man and that’s that?” Dane asked.

            “No, I would like to be there when you tell my father, Lucius Malfoy, that you are fucking,” at this point Harry was flat against the door, desperate to hear it all; he would’ve turned the door invisible to see through if he could; he would have to ask George to invent extendable eyes, “someone else and wish to marry me anyway.”

            Dane laughed. It started off with a chuckle and then turned into a booming laugh. It was several minutes before he settled himself back down, saying, “You are going to get me killed, aren’t you?”

            Draco’s reply was a murmur too soft to make out.

            Harry had the urge to rip off his cloak, throw open the door, hurl Draco over his shoulder, and mark his territory. He wanted to spirit Draco away from this place and keep Draco hidden behind the wards at home. He didn’t know what was coming over him as he forced himself to remain frozen in place and listen. It was something about the way Draco’s voice sounded while talking to Dane: easy, carefree, and a little flirty. Draco was _not_ supposed to sound that way with Dane. Draco was supposed to view Dane as an inconvenience forced upon him by Lucius. Harry scowled as it became abundantly clear that this was no longer the case.

            “Right, well just for the record, I haven’t had sex with Mason since _before_ my first date with you and I do not plan on doing so again, unless these talks fall through. What about you? Did you kiss any of these birds you have on your list?” Dane asked.

            Ah, this was why Harry _needed_ to be here spying. He had to know the answer to this question and a million others he had in a similar vein. He could only hope Dane would ask what he wanted to know. It was obvious that they were discussing their sexual histories using some sort of list. He wished he had the list, but he could only hope to decipher the references to said list. He put all of his mental capabilities into this task.

            “No…they were my father’s idea…I’m not sure what he was thinking.”

            Not much of a surprise there; Draco had admitted to being gay from the start.

            “Tell me the truth; I heard you banged Parkinson,” Dane whispered so softly that Harry barely made it out, even with the ears.

            “That’s just what we put out,” Draco answered.

            Harry had to stop himself from snorting when he heard this. It was so typical of a Malfoy to start a rumor like that. He was only surprised Draco hadn’t put out more similar rumors.

            “You didn’t do anything with her?” Dane asked.

            “We kissed. On the lips. I think I gagged when she tried to slip me her tongue. I felt rather ill afterwards. Mother took me to our healer’s to be checked out.”

            Dane laughed. Harry stifled his own amusement, trying not to be noticed out in the hall. Then Dane asked, “And the blokes?”

            That cut through the amusement like a hot knife through butter. Harry was back to rapt attention, eager to hear the answer.

            “I have done everything from both columns of the list equally, up until there,” Draco answered. “Well that one there, I have only done that to myself, so I’m not sure what that counts as.”

            This told Harry so much, but left out so much more, since he didn’t have the list in front of him and didn’t know up to which point Draco had indicated. The word, “Equally,” was probably the most informative. Whatever Draco had done, he had given as much as he had received. It was obviously the opposite of the way Dane had gone about his own sexual conquests, because Dane had done much more on one side. It pleased Harry that Draco hadn’t given the symmetrical answer of having done everything on the other side. And it pleased him even more that his own list would probably match Draco’s. When it came to his gay encounters, he’d kissed and been kissed. He frotted and been frotted against. Well that was about the end of his list, but even that fact seemed to match, because Draco had indicated his list wasn’t complete either. Harry’s heterosexual list was pretty complete as far as he was concerned, but he didn’t think that counted. That was just Ginny.

            The other bit of information that was pretty clear was that Draco was claiming to be a virgin. Harry didn’t know whether or not Draco was telling the truth on that point. It fit and it didn’t fit at the same time. He simultaneously wanted to believe it and he didn’t want to believe it. He wanted Draco to be saving sex for him, so that they could lose their gay virginities to each other. On the other hand, Draco had already had his baby—been forced to by Voldemort, really—and Harry didn’t like the idea that a virgin Draco had been forced to do something like that. It was bad enough to think Draco had been forced to at all, but it made it even worse to think that a virgin Draco had been forced into it.

            On the other hand, Harry had no reason to believe Draco was telling Dane the full and complete truth. He’d overheard other statements regarding this marriage prospect and the importance of Draco being presented as unspoiled goods, despite the baby. It had started in that floo conversation Harry had overheard between Draco and the Malfoy parents. Then Dromeda had made a similar comment when Dane had picked Draco up for that first date. But if Lucius was somehow using Draco’s alleged sexual innocence to win a better deal in the marriage contract, then maybe it wasn’t true. Maybe it was nothing more than an attempt to make Draco sound more appealing. None of the Malfoys seemed beyond lying to get what they wanted. Narcissa had probably passed the lie onto her sister and Dromeda did not realize she was being used to further Malfoy aims.

            Harry couldn’t figure out which case was the truth, so he did the only thing he could do: hold tight and keep listening for clues.

            “Good to know. Perhaps we should’ve included a third column for whether you have done these things to yourself. I myself tried to do number three to myself once, but I couldn’t reach,” Dane said. “I’m not flexible enough.”

            Draco chuckled and replied, “I never tried to do that to myself. Truthfully I didn’t know what all of these things were and had to look some of them up.”

            “Like what?”

            “That one there and the last one.”

            “But you have done that first one, right? It’s inside your circle,” Dane replied.

            “Yes, I didn’t know what it was called, but I have done it. I didn’t know that it was a normal thing to do; I thought it was just Potter being weird and drunk.”

            Harry knew exactly what Draco was referring to here: their drunken frotting. In examining his time with Draco, the wizard had shown a certain degree of restraint or possibly innocence in both of their sexual encounters. At the time of the frotting, he’d assumed that they weren’t doing anything new for Draco. It was new for him, since it was his first gay experience, but he had assumed it was old hat for Draco, who was well out of the closet. Maybe it wasn’t. Draco had practically ran away from him in the pool house on Friday, which screamed virgin. Retrospectively, he started feeling bad for being so forward, as if he’d taken advantage of a drunk virgin. Remembering that he had blamed both incidents on Draco, he felt even worse. He’d assumed Draco to be the more experienced one, but now it seemed clear that he himself was the aggressor with all of the experience. He was a cad. Although there was still a part of him that didn’t believe that Draco really was a virgin.

            “So you did that one with Potter then?” Dane asked, but Draco’s response was inaudible. “Is Potter the bloke you did all of these things with?”

            Draco answered in the negative and Harry listened intently to the rest of the sentence, hoping to hear who his competition was. Draco had mentioned another unnamed suitor to Lucius and Harry had yet to figure out who this other bloke was. He waited with baited breath for the answer. But the name Draco said sounded like, “Rocks,” and Harry wasn’t sure if that was really a person, the brand name of a self-pleasuring implement, or if he had misheard completely. Dane probably knew, because it sounded like Dane had a list of all of Draco’s previous suitors. Harry wished he had the list too and imagined breaking into Dane’s house to steal said list, just to find out the answer to this puzzle.

            “Very well.” There was a rustle of parchment, before Dane changed the line of the conversation, “I am sorely lacking in that first column, which according to our professional independent evaluations is going to be a problem.”

            _What professional independent evaluations_? Harry wondered. This was the first he was hearing about it. _Does it have something to do with an arranged marriage?_

            “Are you willing to try them? I believe I told you on our first date that I wanted to be equals in this relationship,” Draco replied.

            “Yes, but your dominance score is _so_ high. Don’t you want a submissive partner? I mean, I always pictured myself with a submissive partner and I didn’t score as highly as you. Are you sure you or your dad didn’t cheat?”

            “No, as I said before, I want an equal. And I forbade my father from cheating. We used a healer of your choice, to avoid the potential bias of favoritism.”

            “Yes, I choose the healer, but still, your father could’ve bribed the wizard after I gave you the name.”

            “No he could not have, because I did not bother informing him of the name. If my test score is high, it is only because my father has spent years engraining his ideals into me. We can work on lowering it… Let me see my results and I will check to make sure they are correct,” Draco said and there was more rustling of parchment. “All of these are accurate. I guarantee you that they are. You can feel free to put a clause in the marriage contract to annul the marriage if they are not.”

            “Seriously? Even the measurements? That is something we cannot change.”

            “Yes, seriously. Truthfully I was surprised when I received your results. They are rather low.”

            “They are _well_ above average.”

            “But only _just_ well above average. After looking at you, I had assumed they would be through the roof, off the chart if you will.”

            Harry perked up at this. He stopped silently berating himself for taking advantage of Draco as the glee came over him. Was Draco making fun of Dane? Was he rejecting Dane for not being enough of a man? Given Harry’s initial impression of Dane as being a hunk of a bloke, this seemed rather ironic. It did come off sounding rather snobbish, but at the same time, it was such an entirely Draco thing to say. Harry wanted to double over in laughter replaying the comment in his mind, but thankfully his earlier dour mood helped to control his elation. He would laugh later.

            “Well do you think you can live with _just_ well above average?” Dane asked.

            “Yes. Honestly, I have so little experience that I don’t know what I will like,” Draco admitted.

            _No, no, no, no, no_! This was the wrong answer, as far as Harry was concerned. This was supposed to be where Draco broke things off, possibly even belittling Dane for being less of a man than Harry. Draco was not supposed to give in and accept Dane.

            “Alright, and I have so little experience in the left column that I do not know whether or not I will like it, so I guess that makes us even,” Dane said.

            “Then we are in the same boat.”

            “Yes, it would seem we are. Alright, well I think that is it then. I know everything I need to in order to continue with the next stage of the contract negotiations,” Dane concluded.

            “Good, then I can get back to my son. I will see you Tuesday evening for our date and I expect your sisters on Monday and Thursday again at the usual time,” Draco said.

            With this, Harry knew he had to move or risk being found out. He ran down the stairs, and tore off his cloak in the same empty room that he had used before. He stashed the ears and the cloak back into his pocket, which now bulged noticeably with the addition of the ears. Then he flat out ran for the aquarium, where Hannah and Neville were sitting on the floor with Leo between them, each holding one of Leo’s sides in support. Leo’s body was upright, but leaned against the glass, his mouth open, as if he was trying to eat the fish tank. The highchair, empty jar, spoon, and dirty bib were left discarded nearby. The nappy bag was shoved under the highchair, to prevent it from tripping the other people who were walking through the maze.

            “Draco’s finished. He’ll be coming soon. I was here the whole time,” Harry said panting, as he joined the trio on the ground. “What did I miss?”

            “Leo said ish a few times,” Neville offered.

            “The first of which with food in his mouth and that is why the highchair is so dirty. Other than that though, he ate all of his food,” Hannah added.

            “Harry, um, I’m not very good at lying,” Neville said.

            “Go ahead and take off. I’ve got Leo.” Harry scooped Leo up under the armpits and deposited his son in his lap. Leo fussed at first, so Harry continued, “Hey now Lion, none of that. We aren’t leaving your ish.”

            “Ish?” Leo asked.

            “Yes, fish,” Harry replied.

            “Well then we should get going. I can see Draco coming from here,” Hannah said and Neville nodded.

            “Thank you guys so much for this. I owe you big,” Harry called as Hannah and Neville ran away, off through the maze. They were out of sight by the time Draco arrived.

            “Ready for dinner? I could smell the beef on the way here and now my stomach is rumbling,” Draco said.

            “I don’t know if Leo is ready to leave the fish,” Harry answered.

            “Ish, ish, ish,” Leo added, leaning forward to bang on the glass with his opened palms for emphasis.

            “We’ll call Kreacher and ask him to bring back the fish we won. I’m starving, come on,” Draco said, vanishing the jar, pocketing the spoon, and levitating the highchair back in the direction of the tables.

            Harry got up and followed, fighting to keep his grip on Leo, while Leo fought against him in protest over the fish.

            Draco deposited the highchair near a table, absent mindedly cast a scouring charm at it, and called Kreacher for a fish, which appeared in a glass bowl on the table. It was the fish Harry had won for Leo, not the one Draco had won. That made Harry feel like a proper provider, even if it was only a goldfish.

            “See Leo, Father has your fish. Sit quietly and you can have at it,” Draco said.

            “Ish,” Leo said, smiling so widely that his gums and his half a tooth showed. He was no longer fighting, but holding still in Harry’s arms.

            Harry quickly inserted Leo into the highchair and strapped the child in. Once the tray was on, Draco added the bowl with the fish.

            “What if he grabs the fish?” Harry asked.

            “As long as he doesn’t try to eat it, it’s fine with me. These things do not live very long anyway,” Draco replied.

            Harry wasn’t nearly okay with their son possibly murdering a fish, so he cast a barrier charm on the top of the bowl, to prevent anything from going into or coming out of it. Then he handed it over to Leo.

            “Ooo,” Leo said, clapping his hands excitedly.

            “I know you purebloods like your animal sacrifices, but I’d rather not prepare him early for that,” Harry said.

            “I’ve always hated the slaughtering the bull part of this festival, but nothing compares to the eating it part. Already it smells delicious. Oh, and I have good news,” Draco replied.

            “Yeah?” Harry asked.

            “Dane said that his family only celebrates the Raan festival if they go back to Senegal. They only partake in the Celtic ones in Britain and they rarely return to Senegal,” Draco replied.

            “Okay…” Harry said, not knowing what to say.

            “It’s great! Cleared up all of my objections to the marriage contract,” Draco added.

            “Great,” Harry said through clenched teeth, not at all happy about this development. Not even the delicious roast bull he was soon served was good enough to clear his mind of the bad news. Why couldn’t Draco and Dane just start hating each other?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it; Harry had his chance to observe a bit of interaction between Draco and Dane. What did you think?  
> Please Review!


	24. Chapter 24

            “Harry Potter, sir,” Dipsy the house elf squeaked, poking Harry on the shoulder. “You must wake up, sir. Master Draco, sir, needs you right away, sir.”

            Harry had been sound asleep in his bed on the fifth floor of Grimmauld Place, but the loud crack of house elf apparition and the banging on his wards had caused him to stir. Now with the elf’s poking and squeaking, he sat up wiping the sleep out of his eyes and put his glasses on. “What’s wrong? Where is he?”

            “It’s Master Leo, sir. They are on the other side of your door, sir. Your wards, sir,” Dipsy said.

            It was a relic from all of those months on the run that Harry felt the need to cast so many wards on his room before he could fall asleep. There were loads of protections on the house itself and the Order had helped him redouble the wards after the war, but he still never felt safe. There were too many people who knew the secret and could counter the wards.

            Draco knew the secret, but he hadn’t a clue how to get passed the wards on Harry’s door, and that was why he’d had to send his elf to fetch the wizard. It was just passed two in the morning on Thursday and Leo had yet to go to sleep, instead crying, fussing, and refusing to eat this entire time. Worse, Leo had been running a fever and it was only the willow bark potion that had brought his temperature down. The potion was also an analgesic, but that hadn’t stopped the baby from fussing and refusing to sleep. His lower gum was clearly swollen with a second bump and was bright red. The new painful looking bump was adjacent to the first tooth to erupt, which was still only halfway in. Leo was obviously cutting a second tooth, so Draco had tried to ice it, but that hadn’t been enough. Leo was still awake and as a result, Draco was beyond exhausted.

            Harry canceled his wards and threw open his door to find Draco kneeling in the hall, his back to the wall and Leo cradled on his lap, in his arms. Leo was fussing quietly until he caught sight of Dipsy, and subsequently started screaming his lungs out. The elf’s presence generally signaled two things; firstly, that it was bedtime, and secondly, that Dipsy and not Draco would be tending to the baby. Leo was miserable and having none of it, hence the screaming.

            “What is it? What’s wrong with him?” Harry asked, rushing out into the hall and kneeling down in front of Draco and the baby.

            “Take that, first,” Draco said, tiredly motioning with his chin towards his elf.

            Dipsy was holding out a vial of potion. “Here, sir,” she said. “It’s a sobriety potion.”

            Harry recognized the potion and it was indeed a sobriety potion, but he wasn’t drunk. He’d only had one butterbeer at the pub with the guys and that had been hours and hours ago. With Ginny away, he’d spent every night that week, except for Wednesday, at home with Leo. He’d even spent Tuesday home alone with Leo, while Draco went on a date with Dane. After a whole night alone with his son, which was harder than he’d anticipated, he felt he deserved the few hours he took to spend with Neville, Seamus, Dean, and Ron. It was solid guy time, although they hadn’t drunk nearly as much as when Ginny and her friends were around.

            If anything, the hangover potion was needed to deal with Harry’s impending headache. The headache was from being woken up in the middle of the night and the squall currently emanating from Leo’s mouth, so he wondered if a hangover potion would do the trick. “I’m not drunk,” he protested, wondering if the elf would fetch a headache tonic instead.

            The reason Harry had gone to the pub was to receive his report from Neville. Given that Dane and Draco’s second date was held at a posh pureblood garden that Neville was familiar with, Harry had sent Neville to spy instead of Ron. Neville had proved to be an inferior spy. All Neville had to report was that the date was romantic, started with a stroll through the famously expensive garden, proceeded to a picnic on the lawn, and ended with a bit of star gazing. Neville had gone off on several irrelevant tangents, such as how fascinating and wonderful the huge collection of exotic and or magical plants was, and about how wonderful his own dates with Hannah to the same gardens had been. It made Harry wish he’d been the one to take Draco, not Dane, but it offered him very little insight into how the date went. Even when he’d flat out asked, Neville had just said, “Great!” and went off on a new rare flower that was in bloom. The one thing Harry did learn from the experience was to stick with using Ron for spy missions, because Neville was not cut out for that job.

            “I don’t trust you and I know you’ve been drinking; just take it,” Draco said tersely. This wasn’t the first time he’d forced Harry to drink a sobriety potion and the way things were going, it wouldn’t be the last.

            Harry shrugged, thinking that the potion couldn’t possibly hurt him, so he took it. As soon as he handed the empty vial back to Dipsy, she disappeared with a loud crack and Leo started to calm down. Now there was only soft fussing, instead of the screaming.

            “Alright, there, I took it. Now what’s the matter?” Harry asked, his headache clearing, thanks to the fact that the sobriety potion contained a headache remedy.

            “I was contemplating your savage murder, but I couldn’t decide how to do it. Do you have a preference? It will have to be in your sleep, of course, otherwise you would have an unfair advantage, what with your training. The Killing Curse is out, obviously, since you’re immune to it. I was thinking it will have to be a manual job, perhaps with a silver blade. Tell me, do you have a silver dagger I can shove through your heart?” Draco asked in return, not answering Harry’s question.

            Draco’s voice was flat, indicating exhaustion more than anything else, but Harry was fairly certain this was a joke and chose to take it lightly. A silver dagger through the heart was recommended as the best way to kill out of control werewolves and vampires. The joke was that Draco was calling Harry a member of the undead by suggesting he could only be killed by such a means.

            “What are you on about? What’s wrong with Leo?”

            “I am going to kill you, because this is entirely your fault.” Harry might have been worried, if Draco didn’t sound so defeated or if he didn’t look like he was going to collapse from sleep deprivation any second now.

            “How so? What is my fault?”

            “ _Your_ son won’t let me sleep. He’s been up _all_ night. This is all your fault, so after about five hours of walking the floor, I started wondering why you were asleep, when I was stuck awake with the baby. Then when I went to wake you, I discover you’ve warded your bedroom against us. That is when I decided to kill you. So tell me, how do you prefer to go? And are you immune to anything besides the killing curse? A silver dagger ought to do the trick, eh? It should work on useless, sleeping, Saviors.” Ah, there was the joke Draco was aiming for, sort of. It took him long enough to get around to it and it didn’t even come out that funny. He would have to work on delivery when he wasn’t so exhausted.

            “No, just give ‘em here,” Harry said, prying Leo out of Draco’s arms. He instinctively started pacing around his room and motioned Draco inside.

            Draco sat on the edge of Harry’s bed, his shoulders slumped down in exhaustion, and closed his eyes. He swayed slightly, belaying just how tired he was.

            “What’s wrong with him?” Harry asked, one hand patting Leo’s back as he swayed. The baby had quieted down, but there were tears in his eyelashes and he was still awake.

            “He’s teething. Again. It’s entirely your fault, you know, because you have teeth, PaPa.”

            “You do know you’re not making any sense? You have teeth too,” Harry pointed out.

            “Irrelevant. He has your teeth, so it’s your fault.”

            Draco liked to blame Harry for everything that went wrong. That time Leo had diarrhea and leaked out his nappy while Harry was at work was Harry’s fault too, because a Malfoy would never make such a mess. At first Harry had been annoyed, but now he got the feeling that this was Draco’s way of joking with him. Ever since their heart to heart on his birthday, they had turned a corner and he now found everything Draco did sort of endearing.

            “How do you know he has my teeth? You can barely see the one tooth he does have; it’s not even halfway up. He could very well have _your_ teeth, Draco.”

            Draco waved Harry off with a hand. “No, he has everything else of yours; he will have your teeth too. Then this will be your fault.”

            “Uh huh,” Harry agreed sarcastically, leaving out the fact that Leo had Draco’s mouth, a bit of Draco’s brow structure, and the silkiness of Draco’s hair. “Well what have you tried to put him to sleep? Did you give him that pain potion?” Draco grunted in the affirmative. “What about that teething ring you had in the icebox?”

            “Melted. Tried it; didn’t work,” Draco answered, falling over on his side on the bed, his eyes still closed. He groped blindly and came up with Harry’s pillow, which he shoved under his head.

            “Did you sing that song he likes?” Again Draco grunted, so Harry asked another, “Did he eat?”

            “No, he bit me.” Draco’s eyes flashed open angrily as he said this, his arm suddenly flung back. “That’s your fault too. No child of mine would be so uncivilized. Malfoys do not bite.”

            “Right… Did you try giving him a bottle then? We have some of Teddy’s dried milk somewhere and I could make Leo up a bottle,” Harry suggested.

            “Dipsy already tried that. I normally express milk into a bottle for him at night and she feeds it to him, but he wouldn’t take it. He keeps screaming at her, so I tried to feed him myself and he bit me. Then he looked at me like I was crazy when I tried to offer him the bottle. He didn’t want any solid food either. He took the spoon from me and started gnawing on it.”

            “Okay, so you’ve tried everything then?” Harry asked and Draco nodded.

            “I even gave him a second dose of willow bark potion.”

            Harry thought about the problem for a few minutes as he walked with Leo around the room, humming and gently swaying. He looked at Leo and determined that the baby was still awake, a Malfoy scowl on the little lips. He inserted an index finger into Leo’s mouth and was promptly bitten, the swollen gums and the one tooth chomping down harder than Harry realized was possible. “Ow,” he said, retracting his finger. Leave it to a Malfoy to be so grumpy over a little tooth.

            There was only one thing to do: call in reinforcements. Harry ordered the elf to go to the Burrow and fetch Molly Weasley. He left Draco to sleep in his bed and took Leo down to the nursery, where he found the still warm bottle of milk resting on the nightstand next to the now tepid teething ring. He tried the bottle first, cradling Leo against his chest as he forced the silicon nipple between the pouty lips, the way he did with Teddy. Teddy always latched on and sucked eagerly, but Leo didn’t, instead he forced the nipple out with his tongue.

            Harry was just wiping a bit of spit and milk off of Leo’s chin when Molly arrived, out of breath and ample bosom heaving, having run up the flight of stairs from the floo in the drawing room. She was wearing a long frumpy nightgown covered with an old teary cloth robe, with house slippers on her feet, and her hair was in a frightful state. All of this indicated that she had jumped out of bed and come straight over. “Oh dear. I came as soon as that elf woke me up. What seems to be the problem?” she asked.

            “He’s teething. He won’t eat, he won’t sleep, and he bit Draco. Draco’s exhausted, so I called you,” Harry explained, casting a chilling spell on the teething ring and offering it to Leo. Leo chomped down eagerly, gnawing aggressively, as his eyes finally closed.

            “Oh dear,” Molly repeated, before going over the list of things to try, all of which Draco had already done.

            “He’s tried everything; what do we do Mrs. Weasley?” Harry asked pleadingly.

            “Did you try rubbing an analgesic gel on his gums?” Molly asked and Harry shook his head.

            “We don’t have any.”

            “Then there is only one thing to do: apparate to Japan and pick some up, dear. It’ll be daylight there.”

            “I can’t apparate to Japan. It’s too far. The floo cannot even connect to Austria, where Draco’s parents are. It’ll never connect to Japan.”

            “Not floo, but apparate, via a series of regularly spaced jumps of a feasible distance. Leave it to me; I’ve gone loads of times over the years. Stay here and I’ll be back in a jiffy,” Molly said, before rushing back out of the nursery.

            Harry stayed and looked down at Leo, who was holding the teething ring to his chilled gums with both hands. It looked like Leo had it, so Harry let it go, in favor of picking up Leo’s favorite stuffed duck and moving it around as he sang a song about ducklings sitting on a log that he’d heard Draco singing before. Leo seemed to like the song and closed his eyes, although he didn’t go to sleep. As soon as the song was done, the little bright green eyes shot wide open again.

            “Why won’t you go to sleep, Leo? You’ve already driven your father barmy, don’t you think it’s time to sleep now?” Harry asked, touching Leo’s cheek and realizing that the skin was cold from the teething ring. “You’re cold. Why don’t you give that back to Papa and go to sleep?” He tugged gently at the teething ring, but Leo didn’t let it go, so he left it. At that moment he heard the sound of the front door and knew Molly would be back with some miracle solution any moment now.

            Molly had a small pot of gel in her hands when she bustled back into the nursery, out of breath from her long journey. She put a dab onto her finger and then rubbed it into Leo’s tender gums, earning a snap from the baby and a bit of fussing for her trouble. Leo, it seemed, was upset the teething ring had been taken from him for the second it took to apply the gel. They waited a moment for the numbing powers of the gel to activate, before Molly suggested trying the bottle again. This time Leo drank greedily and Harry had to really tug to remove the bottle long enough to burp the baby. Leo burped loudly and Harry returned the bottle, letting his son finish eating.

            Leo fell asleep drinking the last sip, not even giving Harry time to burp him, but Molly insisted Harry try anyway. The baby gave a small burp in his sleep and Harry laid Leo down in the crib, before turning to his savior.

            “Thank you so much for everything, Mrs. Weasley. You’re a life savior and I really appreciate this,” Harry said.

            “Oh anytime. Think nothing of it dear, and call me Molly,” Molly said, engulfing Harry in one of her motherly hugs. “I’m so glad you called me when you needed help.”

            “You were the only one I could think of,” Harry admitted, hugging her back.

            “Right, best get some sleep. I’ll set up a cot in here in case he wakes up. Off to bed with you,” Molly said, pulling back.

            Harry complied and trudged off to his bed, only to find Draco sound asleep, sprawled on top of the covers. He daren’t crawl into bed with Draco, not after that one drunken incident and what almost happened on his birthday, especially because Molly was still in the house. But, he also didn’t want to wake Draco, because he knew Draco had been up all night and just now gotten to sleep. Thus he grabbed an extra blanket out of the bottom of his wardrobe and draped it over Draco, before going downstairs to Ron’s room. The smell was truly atrocious now, so he had to cast an air freshening charm and a bubblehead charm in order to get to sleep.

            Having work the next morning, Harry woke up at his usual time. Draco would typically wake up at the same time, in order to feed Leo, but he was still sound asleep when Harry looked in on him. They let Draco sleep. Molly, with the help of a bottle of breast milk provided by Dipsy, took care of Leo. She was good with the baby, but Harry was hesitant to leave, because Leo didn’t know Molly well.

            “Go on dear, Leo will be fine,” Molly reassured. “I’ll call Dromeda and Teddy to come over.” She left out that the backup was for when Draco woke up. She didn’t know the young wizard well and although she didn’t think he was as awful as his father, she doubted he would want her around to help. After all, he’d turned down all of her invites to dinner. The only time she’d seen him at all since the war was when she’d helped Harry babysit Leo so that Draco could go to the Ministry to check on the Lestranges.

            And so Harry went off to work. Ron wanted to know why Harry had summoned his mother away in the middle of the night, leaving him to fend for himself for breakfast, and where Molly was now. When Harry had explained, Ron went a bit barmy with worry that his mother had been left alone with Draco Malfoy. It was only the fact that Dromeda and Teddy were due over that kept Ron from taking the day off from work and storming Grimmauld Place, looking for his mum.

            Harry went straight home after work, both because Dane’s sisters were expected over and to ensure no one had been killed or was currently planning murder. They weren’t, so he was safe. Dromeda, Molly, Draco, Ria, Khari, and little Dede were sitting at the kitchen table enjoying Molly’s cooking, with Mairi, Leo, and Teddy in highchairs. Mairi’s food was chopped into tiny pieces and she was feeding herself with a pincher grip. Teddy had a bowl of mashed green beans, which Dromeda was feeding him, while Leo had an odd collection of food items on his tray. There was a spoon and a melting Popsicle, which both showed some signs of being gnawed on, but were currently cast aside in favor of a large red apple. Because Leo’s first tooth had barely broken the surface, he had no way of doing anything more that puncturing the apple. Mostly he was drooling on the piece of fruit and using it to chill his gums.

            From the ubiquitous braided state of everyone’s hair in the room, this evening’s hair session had been a success. This included two different styles of cornrows for Teddy and Leo. Teddy’s braids were larger, fewer in number, a bit wonky in places, pink, and simply going from back to front, but trailing farther down his back that his hair normally went. For that matter, Teddy normally didn’t have that many strands of hair. Leo’s hair was done in the elegant spiral he’d rocked at the Lughnasadh celebration on Sunday; it wasn’t simply a hold over though, because the baby’s hair had frizzed up quite badly and been taken out by Draco, who had mastered the combing spell, on Tuesday. Molly’s hair was in a pair of French braids, while Dromeda’s matched Dede’s and Mairi’s individuals. Even Draco wore spiral cornrows in his hair, which looked to be several inches longer than it had been, since it had been cut quite short.

            “Smells good,” Harry said, taking a seat. Kreacher grumbled seditiously as he placed a plate of Molly’s delicious cooking in front of Harry. Harry dug in.

            “Molly cooked. We are all in for quite the dessert,” Dromeda replied.

            “Our mother is going to be so jealous when she realizes what she’s missing,” Ria said.

            Morowa normally came, so that she could get to know her son’s suitor, but she had taken the night off to spend with one of her own friends. Angelina was helping George at the shop tonight, and so had left early. Seamus and Ron had stopped coming last week when Draco had run out of guinea pigs and asked to braid Seamus’, Ron’s, and Harry’s hair. Harry had declined at the time, but later let Draco practice on him in private. He liked the feel of Draco’s hands working their way through his hair and he enjoyed the closeness it provided. Of course he didn’t want anyone to know he’d let Draco braid his hair like a girl, so he’d made Draco take it out before bed.

            “Sounds brilliant. So there were no problems then?” Harry asked.

            “Is that your way of asking if I continued with my plans to kill you or began formulating plans to do harm to Mrs. Weasley?” Draco asked with his usual drawl. Harry nodded. “Well I haven’t. I have decided to give you a reprieve for the time being.”

            “Draco here was a fine gentleman today. He slept until past noon, but once he did rise, he thanked me for my help last night. I told him to think nothing of it and to feel free to call me again if the need arises,” Molly said. “And the Ndiayes here taught me a lot about haircare spells. It will save me loads of time with a comb.”

            “Molly Weasley proved a willing test subject for me to practice on, before I did Teddy’s hair,” Draco began, pointing to Molly’s hair. “That was my first attempt.”

            “And you did wonderfully. The basis of a cornrow is a French braid,” Ria put in, for Harry’s benefit, since he had missed the earlier lesson.

            “Then I did Teddy’s,” Draco continued. “I thought, ‘Sure, I can do Teddy, even though it’s cornrolls and I’ve only mastered individuals, because he only has what, a couple dozen hairs on his head.’ Then the little squirt started growing hair as I was working. I had to take it out and redo it three times, because the pink just kept coming out of his scalp.” Draco wasn’t sure why the style was called cornrolls, but that was what he thought the Ndiayes had been calling it.

            “I think Teddy likes having his hair done,” Dromeda put in.

            “That would be a welcome refresher,” Harry replied, before turning to Teddy. “Maybe Leo could learn a thing or two from you about not crying at the sight of a comb. Do you think you can teach your cousin that for me, little man?”

            Teddy banged two flat hands on the tray of his highchair and said, “Ee ah e eee o ee.”

            “Me too!” Mairi seconded, as if she understood Teddy’s gibberish.

            “And me! I always sit still getting my hair done too!” Dede added.

            Draco had obviously turned on his charming side for Molly and included her and Dromeda in the braiding session with Dane’s sisters. Harry was grateful for that, because it meant he wouldn’t be put in the middle of another Malfoy/Weasley feud.

            “Harry and I are indebted to you for saving us last night,” Draco said to Molly, changing the subject.

            “Think nothing of it, dear,” Molly repeated, effectively ending that line of conversation, before it really got going.

            As soon as the dessert was devoured, the Ndiayes excused themselves for the night. Shortly after, Molly and Dromeda left with Teddy. Harry was left to spend the night alone with his little family. If only he could make things stay this way and not have to worry about Dane stealing Draco away from him or Ginny coming home this weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the unplanned delay; the fan on my computer died. To make matters worse, it happened two days after I started my vacation on my brother’s ranch in California. Now my laptop only works when it’s super cold. Moving the files and the lack of computer access made getting this chapter finished and posted a very complicated process.
> 
> So anyway, this chapter is the setup for Draco cracking in the next chapter. I was going to have it all in this chapter, but it was getting too long and the drama with my computer meant that the second half isn’t ready yet. But next chapter, Draco will finally reveal some of his feelings and just what he thinks of Harry. Things are never going to be the same again. And right after that, Ginny will be coming back. Harry has some very big decisions to make in the next few chapters.  
> Please review!


	25. Chapter 25

             When two am rolled around the next morning, Harry was once again awoken by Draco’s elf. “Harry Potter, sir,” Dipsy squeaked, poking Harry on the shoulder. “You must wake up, sir. Master Draco, sir, said to tell you that there is a fire, sir.” Because she wasn’t Harry’s elf, she was free to lie to him. And she had to lie, since Draco had ordered her to. She was Draco’s elf and had to do as Draco said.

            Harry jumped out of bed on high alert, before he even processed what the elf said. “Huh? Wha? A fire?” he asked, canceling the wards and flinging open the door to his room, wearing nothing but his pajama bottoms.

            Leo was on the other side of the door, up on his knees, banging on the door, and yelling an indistinguishable string of babbling. He fell forward as the door opened, landing hard with an “Oof.”

            Draco was standing a few feet back, his arms crossed with an extremely angry looking scowl on his face.

            Harry picked Leo up and asked, “Where’s the fire?”

            “It’s about to be in your bed, you insufferable arse,” Draco answered coldly. He moved only to hand Harry the bottle of warm breast milk for Leo, which the baby would not take from him. If Draco was doing the feeding, Leo wanted it from the source, but the milk was already in the bottle, so it was too late for that. Dipsy had woken Draco when Leo had refused to take the bottle from her, instead screaming at the sight of her. Leo was still cutting his second tooth and in no mood for the impersonal feeding of an elf. The baby wanted the comfort of a warm human body cuddling him as he fed.

            Harry took the bottle and instinctively inserted it into Leo’s mouth, without knowing what was going on. “Huh? Seriously, how bad is it? You take Leo out of here and I’ll try to put it out.” As he said this last bit, he held Leo with bottle in mouth out for Draco to take back, but Draco’s arms were once again crossed in refusal.

            “There is no fire, but if I wanted to start one in your room, your wards wouldn’t stop me. They may keep me out, but they will not keep the flames out,” Draco threatened, purposefully not specifying that he could use his elf to bypass the wards to do so, just like he’d used his elf to wake Harry up. He didn’t want Harry to find wards against his elf, or he wouldn’t be able to contact the wizard at all in an actual emergency. Besides, he had no plans on harming Leo’s PaPa; the threat was all talk.

            “Wait, seriously? There’s no fire?” Harry asked in disbelief.

            “Yes, seriously.”

            Draco cast a privacy bubble around Leo’s head, so that the argument that was to come would not be heard by their son, who was greedily sucking down the milk from the bottle.

            “Why is your room warded against our son, Harry? Could you even hear him knocking?” Draco asked, his tone so scalding hot that Harry jumped as if burned.

            Harry had not in fact heard anything from the hallway. After Draco’s first night here he’d sound proofed his room, so that Leo’s crying wouldn’t wake him. “The room has been soundproofed for ages and I’ve slept with wards up since the war. I didn’t specifically lock you two out or anything.”

            “And what if there really was a fire? You would just burn away up here without us knowing or we would die down there before you even realized we needed help.”

            “Sorry.”

            “Sorry is _not_ good enough. Not nearly. Not even close. I cannot even wipe Leo’s arse with a, ‘Sorry.’ What right do you have to lock us out? I haven’t locked you out of either of our rooms.”

            “Well it is my house,” Harry defended himself.

            “And it is _my_ son you are endangering with your selfish habits. I came up here _hoping_ that last night was just a onetime deal.” Here Draco was leaving out that his main reason for walking up two flights of stairs in the middle of the night was because Leo needed to be fed. The options for feeding the baby seemed to be either have another human employ the bottle or let Leo go hungry until Draco made more milk. He didn’t like to see his son suffer, so he went with waking Harry up. “I thought maybe you warded you room while you wank. Maybe you wanked yourself to sleep and then forgot to cancel the wards. But no, you weren’t wanking, were you? You have your room permanently warded against us. You do not trust either of us, even though Leo is only six months old. What are you afraid he will do? Crawl up here and puke in your room?”

            “No…”

            “Do you think I should be warding my room against everyone and everything too? Is there some dark force in this house I am not aware of?”

            “No.”

            “Do you think you need to ward your room against _me_?” Draco asked.

            Harry didn’t know what to say to that. There was a time when he would have answered in the affirmative, but now he didn’t think so, not really. But he did not manage an answer quick enough before Draco continued on.

            “You do, don’t you? Why in the world would _you_ need protecting from _me?_ ”

            “Er…”

            “That’s rich, Harry James Potter, really rich, you twat. _You_ , the Savior of the Wizarding World, the Boy Who Lived, the Most Powerful Wizard in the World, the Chosen One, the Defeater of the Most Powerful Dark Lord Who Ever Lived, lives in fear of me. Why did you even let me into your home if you are so scared of me?”

            “Leo…” was Harry’s one word answer; the only word he managed to squeeze out in the middle of Draco’s rant.

            “Yes, Leo, exactly. You let me in because I had Leo. And then instead of being a man about it and admitting that you are a spineless, gutless, eunuch and asking us to find somewhere else to live, you decide to ward your room and put both of us in danger. In reality you have proven to be a bigger piece of shite than I had even imagined possible. You are worse than my father, the Dark Lord, and all of the Death Eaters combined _ever_ said you were.” None of those people had ever said Harry would put the life of a child at risk for selfish reasons, only that Harry was a blood traitor and might bring about the destruction of their world. The last was rendered obsolete by the end of the war and the middle one no longer mattered to Draco. The former he thought unforgivable.

            “That’s harsh, don’t you think?” Harry asked, feeling like he’d just been punched in the gut.

            “No, I think that was an understatement. And to think, the Dark Lord was counting on your hero complex luring you in to save Leo. If there is any part of him left out there, it is kicking itself in the arse, because obviously you wouldn’t have come for your own son. That plan was doomed to failure in so many ways.”

            “Now wait a minute…” Harry protested, but Draco kept up the tirade.

            “No, you listen to me. This is absolutely and unequivocally _unacceptable_. I cannot and will not tolerate this. _I_ should be the one warding my door against you. You are the more powerful one. You are the more experienced one. You are the one who has always started everything, not me.”

            “What are you talking about?” Harry shouted over Draco.

            “What am I talking about?” Draco shouted back, face red in anger and tendons straining. “I’m talking about the fact that _I_ happen to be a virgin, while you _clearly_ are anything but. If the papers are to be believed, you fuck anything that moves.”

            “You know as well as I do that you can’t believe anything you read in the Prophet!”

            “What about the fact that you are engaged to Weasley, but you keep coming on to me? I didn’t get that from the Prophet. You did that weird rubbing up against me shite like a crup in heat, for Merlin’s sake! Yet you have access to my room, and I am banned from yours. You could walk into my room any night while I am asleep and immobilize me before I even know you are there. But do you want to know why I haven’t even locked my door, besides the fact that I want Leo to be able to reach me in an emergency?” Here Draco paused to take a breath long enough for Harry to nod. “Because _I trusted you_. That is clearly something that you cannot say about me in return.”

            Harry’s mouth was open in shock, from the accusations, admission, and even more so from the revelation that Draco was in fact a virgin, which was just beginning to register. He had overheard Draco and others claim as much. He had even suspected it was true, but now Draco was actually confirming it to his face. He could read Draco like a book, so he knew Draco was being honest about this. There was not even the slightest doubt in his mind otherwise.

            “Right, you don’t trust me,” Draco continued, when Harry remained speechless. “Do you honestly think I would harm you? You cannot seriously believe I pose a threat to you, can you?” His tone was imploring, but hard. He wanted Harry to answer correctly, but he was hardening himself against his fear that Harry would not.

            Harry shook his head and began to protest, “Ah, I…” Draco had saved him from Malfoy Manor on Easter, after all.

            “You do, don’t you? You think I might actually do that to Leo. I cannot believe this shite.” And with that, Draco turned and took off down the stairs, leaving Harry still holding the baby and the bottle.

            Harry was left in a state of disbelief. He stood there for several moments processing Draco’s last words. Draco hadn’t said that he couldn’t believe Harry thought he’d do something to _Harry_ , but to _Leo_. Was Draco implying that the only reason he didn’t try to hurt Harry was because of their son? That Draco wouldn’t do something that would hurt his son, but he didn’t care about Harry, other than as Leo’s father? In a way that made sense, because if Draco killed Harry, Leo would suffer. Leo would lose one parent to murder and the other to Azkaban. Draco was not the sort of parent who would do that to a child.

            That rational stung Harry, because he thought he and Draco had been getting along. He was developing feelings for Draco and he’d hoped Draco was developing them for him in return. He wanted Draco not to want to kill him, because of how Draco felt for him, not because of how Draco felt about Leo. He thought they had gotten passed that stage and he was hurt now, thinking that they hadn’t.

            Leo dropped the empty bottle, let out a loud burp, and spit up a mouthful of milk. The milk dribbled down Harry’s chest, getting caught in his chest hair. The little Malfoy managed to instinctively avoid his mess as he lay his sleepy little head down on Harry’s shoulder.

            It was only then that Harry moved. He ignored the bit of baby puke coating his hairy chest, but he did grab a shirt from his dirty clothes pile to wipe the remainder of the milk from under Leo’s chin. Kreacher popped in behind them and dealt with the bottle and soiled shirt as Harry took Leo down the two flights of stairs to the nursery, with plans on laying Leo down in the crib to sleep. However, what he saw when he entered the room stopped him in his tracks. Already the playpen, Leo’s favorite stuffed duck, half the shelf of books, and the entire changing table were gone and Draco was rummaging through drawers, pulling clothing out and stuffing it into the nappy bag; the same nappy bag from which it had all originated just a few short months ago.

            “What are you doing?” Harry asked.

            “I’m leaving. I cannot stay here with you,” Draco answered, without looking up from his task. He wasn’t just taking a few pairs of pajamas for the night, but almost the entire drawer of pajamas. He was sorting through them though, picking out a pair he wasn’t particularly fond of and putting it back, so that the drawer was left with just two pairs, before closing it. Then he moved on to the next drawer and did the same with Leo’s play clothes.

            “Where are you going? You can’t go back to your parents in Austria!” Harry protested.

            “No, I won’t go there.” Draco removed an outfit that had been given to Leo by the Weasleys and put it back in the drawer, along with the shirt Harry had purchased that time they’d gone to buy swim suits for the boys. He was about to leave it at that and take the rest of the shirts, when the one his father had bought jumped out at him. It wasn’t a bad shirt, but he was almost as pissed at his father as he was at Harry, so out of spite he added that shirt to the drawer too. _Let Harry and my father have each other_ , he thought. There was also one his mother had purchased which read, “Grandfather’s Pureblood Pride and Joy,” which he also put back, thinking it would annoy both his father and Harry to leave it here.

            “Then where? You can’t just take my son and not tell me where you’re going.” Harry clutched the sleeping child in question tightly to his chest, fear creeping in. He couldn’t lose Leo, not when he’d so firmly fallen in love with fatherhood. His son and Teddy were the most important people in his life right now. He thought it should’ve been Ginny, his fiancé, but he couldn’t give two shites if she left him, while he couldn’t bear the thought of losing Leo. He didn’t want to lose Draco either, but he had no claim to Draco. He had a claim to Leo and he was going to hold onto it fiercely and hope that where Leo went, Draco would follow.

            “I never said I wouldn’t tell you where we are going. We are going to the lake house. I know I’m not allowed in the Manor, but they let us in the lake house last week.”

            Was that only a week ago? To Harry it felt like longer. It was already one of his happiest memories and he thought it would always remain so. Such awful things had happened in the large manor house, but only an acre away such wonderful memories were made. Despite his fondness for the place, he couldn’t let Draco take his son away. “You can’t go there!” Harry struggled for an excuse as Draco picked out the pair of shorts that Harry had let Leo dump cereal on. They were slightly stained, although the elves had gotten it clean enough that one could only tell something had happened to it in the right light, so back in the drawer they went, along with the matching trousers to the outfit Lucius had bought. “There’s no bed or kitchen. Where will you sleep? Where will you eat? Where will the elves cook? There’s only a loo and a living room.”

            Draco paused in his task to look up and finally meet Harry’s eyes. He looked crushed as he answered, “For tonight, I will sleep on the sofa, since I am not proficient at transfigurations; it is beneath a Malfoy to do so, but conjured beds are so uncomfortable. Tomorrow I will ask around and see where I might stay. Maybe Regan has forgiven me.”

            “But I thought we were getting on. Can’t you stay? We can talk and try to work this out. You said that’s what proper parents do: they talk to each other and work their problems out. We just need to have a family meeting and talk. We can get over this and be civil again, can’t we? We were becoming friends, weren’t we?”

            “Obviously not. Friends do not ward each other out,” here Draco left out the fact that he’d been neglecting to visit some of his friends, because he wanted to do more than just erect a few wards between them and his son, “nor do proper parents. This relationship between us seems rather one sided to me: it’s all give and no take. I dedicate my life to raising your son and you cannot even be arsed to watch him for half an hour.”

            “What are you talking about? I watched him all Tuesday!” Harry protested. It had only been for a little over two hours, but they were two very long and hard hours. He hadn’t realized before how much constant attention Leo demanded or how fussy and prone to crying the baby was when not getting his way. It was easier to watch Leo when Teddy was around, because Teddy occupied a good deal of Leo’s attention. But without Teddy and without any other adult for backup, entertaining the baby had fallen solely on Harry’s shoulders. He was just beginning to appreciate how much effort it took to do Draco’s job, when before he’d assumed Draco sat around doing nothing all day.

            “I am referring to Sunday. I have had several people mention to me that you left Longbottom and the Abbott girl to watch Leo, when I asked you to.”

            Harry hadn’t realized he’d been found out. Now he wondered if Draco knew where he’d actually been during the time he was supposed to be feeding Leo and if part of Draco’s current anger at him was caused by his spying. But he also didn’t want to give away the goose if Draco didn’t already know. He stood there trying to think of a way to formulate a question that would determine what Draco knew, without giving himself away. But he didn’t come up with anything in the few seconds before Draco plowed ahead. He was beginning to realize that Draco was not easy to placate when angry.

            “But as I was saying, I do all of the bending and going out of my way to be civil to your friends, while you glower when mine come over,” Draco continued.

            That wasn’t entirely fair, since Draco was in part referring to Dane. Of course Harry was going to glower at the wizard who was stealing his baby-daddy away from him.

            “You were incredibly rude to Regan and she is about as nice and pleasant as my friends get.” Draco had been building resentment for two months and now that it was spewing forth, he let it flow. “I haven’t dared invite any of the others over, for fear of how you would react. I cannot even have my mother over, because my father is afraid you will attempt to have her arrested, even though she has never committed a crime in her life.”

            “Hey now, I didn’t do or say anything wrong to your mum that one time.”

            “Nor did you follow my wishes for you to stay behind and wait for me. You had to be nosey and see for yourself. You couldn’t trust me that she wasn’t hurting her only grandchild. I feel like you are constantly watching me and critiquing everything I do. I go out of my way to try to be a proper little blood traitor and read all the best blood traitor books to our son, but it’s not good enough for you, is it? Nothing I ever do is good enough and I’m sick of it. I cannot and will not continue to live like this and that is why I must go. There, we talked,” Draco finished.

            “Don’t go. Please don’t go. I’m begging you,” Harry pleaded, locking eyes with Draco.

            “I cannot bear to stay. I can barely stand the sight of you right now without wanting to smash your nose in and slap you across the face. I will not do so, for my son, but I will not be able to sleep while I am under the same roof as you.” Draco’s tone was cold and accusing.

            “But why?” Harry’s voice was desperate.

            “Because I misjudged you. I thought you were a better person than you are. I made a mistake in coming here.”  
            “You didn’t make a mistake. I want you here.” After growing up with the Dursleys, Harry lacked the self-confidence to negate the other statement. Everyone had built him up with so much praise after the war that he’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop for months. He just hadn’t expected it to come from Draco, who had never been one to overtly praise him. Draco had been one of the few people not to put him on a pedestal and that was something he’d liked about the wizard.

            “And I wanted to build a family for my son. I honestly came here with the intentions of doing right by him and putting all of our fighting and disagreements in the past. But I guess I fell for the Harry Potter hype like the rest of the world, because the person I was hoping you were deep down is not the type of person who would put our son’s life at risk by erecting needless wards without even having the guts to tell me that he is scared of me. I bet you turned Longbottom against me too. He was fine with me Sunday morning, but he ran away from me on Tuesday night at the garden. You must’ve said something to him before getting him to feed Leo for you. Not only did you not do as I asked, you bad mouthed me to your friend. Some Gryffindor you turned out to be. I know Slytherins who would have done better.”

            Draco’s assessment of his character hurt. Harry was taken aback again by the accusation that Leo was in danger because of his wards. “I’ll teach you the counter spells. I didn’t know they were a problem. I’ll take them down. I’ll only put up wards that allow you and Leo through. Please, I’ll do anything, but please don’t go.” He would’ve dropped to his knees, but for the sleeping child still in his arms. The news that Neville had been caught spying nearly went in one ear and out the other, except for the mental note Harry made that Neville really was not an option in future spying missions. Later he would wonder why Draco hadn’t said anything before and if he really was getting anything over on the wizard, or if he was just making himself look bad when he tried.

            “You won’t be too scared to sleep at night, knowing that I could be coming for you?” Draco asked, looking away so that he wouldn’t have to be hurt by the look he expected to find in Harry’s face. He thought the truth of Harry’s fear of him would be visible on Harry’s face, so instead of looking, he opened the next drawer and began to go through Leo’s socks. He would leave the dingy ones here for Harry, so that Leo had clothes during those weekend visitations they’d agreed to way back when.

            “Draco, look at me,” Harry demanded, waiting until Draco looked up from the socks. When hurt grey eyes met freshly understanding green ones, he answered. “No, I won’t. You didn’t give me a chance to say it earlier, but I _know_ you wouldn’t hurt me. You couldn’t. You didn’t. My life was in your hands. Not only mine, but that of Hermione, Ron, Dean, Luna, and even Mr. Ollivander and that goblin. You could’ve turned us over to Voldemort, but you didn’t. You helped us escape and you gave me the final clue I needed to defeat him. You played a bigger part in ending the war than anyone gives you credit for.”

            “I don’t want the credit. I just want Leo to be safe. He was not safe and I thought if I let you go, you would make the world safe for him. And…”

            “And what?”

            “And I could not allow his PaPa to die; not when I could prevent it.” Draco broke the eye contact, unable to admit the full extent of his hopes and dreams, or as his father would call them, his unhealthy obsessions.

            “You did prevent it, Draco, you saved me and my friends. For that I will be eternally grateful, but I am even more grateful for the son you have given me and for the chance you have given me to know him. I want him here with me. I want _you_ here with us. I like our living situation the way it is.” Harry tried to put all of his heart into this declaration, hoping that showing his emotions would tip the scale and Draco would stay. It didn’t even matter how embarrassing it was to admit this.

            Draco abandoned the socks, closed the drawer, stood up, and looked at Harry, studying Harry’s face for sincerity. “You do?” he asked.

            “Yes, I do.”

            “Good, because I did not really want to go. We will stay, if you will dismantle the wards. I will unpack the nappy bag in the morning,” Draco replied, holding his arms out for their son.

            A huge smile lit up Harry’s face. Instead of handing Leo over, he shifted the baby’s weight into one arm and used the other to hug Draco.

            Draco melted into the hug for a minute, allowing himself the comfort of Harry’s arms, even though it belonged to the Weasley girl.

            Harry’s heart was soaring, he was so happy. He pressed his lips to Draco’s and silently wished Draco could sense through the kiss how he felt about the other wizard. He wasn’t yet able to put those emotions into words, but he knew he felt something.

            Unwilling to let Harry get away with taking advantage of him again and with the baby in between them to dampen the mood, Draco did not let go of his senses and melt into the kiss the way he wanted to. He turned his head away, breaking the contact of their lips. He reached for Leo, supporting the sleeping head and the limp body, as he pulled them both out of Harry’s arms. “You need to stop doing that. I will not be your side of arse that you toy with when Weasley is away. If you really wanted me, you would have dumped her. I cannot handle this emotional ride with you anymore. One minute you want me and Leo and the next you are off making plans for a life with your fiancé that does not include us. I will not be used like this.” He hugged Leo to his own chest, to give him the strength to be strong and stand up to Harry.

            “Um, er, sorry. I don’t mean to make things hard on you.”

            “But you do, because you do not have your shite together.”

            “I’ll get my shite together, I promise.”

            “You do that.”

            “I will. Will you stay?” Harry asked, worried that the kiss had ruined the tentative agreement.

            “I will until I marry Dane,” Draco said and to prove it, he laid the sleeping Leo down in the crib.

            “Dane?” Harry asked in horror. He’d been counting on any possible marriage being a long way off.

            “Yes, Dane. He doesn’t treat me like you do. I never really thought he was the one, but after tonight, I see how much better he treats me. I’m going to stop dragging my feet on the marriage contract,” Draco said, beginning to see his suitor in a new light. He was now glad his parents had pushed the wizard on him, because it meant he had an option for his future that did not involve Harry Potter.

            This statement had Harry’s hopes rising and crashing at the same time. He hadn’t realized that Draco was dragging his heels with Dane, not after that first date when things seemed to be going so smoothly between the two wizards. It gave him hope that he stood a chance of winning Draco’s favor over Dane. But then in the same sentence Draco had taken Harry’s hopes away, saying that he was going to push ahead faster with Dane. Harry thought things were moving way too fast as it was. “You can’t marry him; you’ve only been on two dates!” Or was it more? Did Lughnasadh last Sunday count? Did that trip to the Ministry to check on the Lestranges count?

            “Exactly; it would have been far more if I wasn’t fighting it. With an arranged marriage, we can tie the knot as soon as both parties agree on the terms of the marriage contract. It won’t be hard to cross out my father’s nonsense and then we will have a valid contract. I can be out of your hair and living with my husband before your fiancé even leaves for school in September.”

            “I don’t want you to.”

            “I cannot keep living with you, when you are planning to marry another. It is time I begin moving forward with my life. Realizing tonight that you ward your room against me was just the eye opener that made me see that.” It was the straw that broke the proverbially camel’s back.

            “But I am going to take them down,” Harry protested.

            “You do that. I’m going to bed,” Draco replied, sounding unimpressed.

            Harry nodded, said, “I’ll go fix those wards,” and turned to leave before his body could get him in any more trouble. He blamed the failed kiss for Draco’s sudden decision to marry Dane and he didn’t want to fuck things up any more than he already had tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the big fight/break up with Ginny. She has just spent the last 2 weeks having a blast with the other guy, so I think her date with Harry will be a major let down. Plus it’s another one of those Ministry galas, and I’m thinking Draco might put in an appearance on Dane’s arm, making Harry jealous. It should be rather clear that both of them are no longer in the same place as they were in the beginning of this story and they both want different things (people) now. How do you want the break up to go? Amicable separation and they both cordially agree to move on? Or massive public fight, possibly driven by the fact that it’s Ginny’s birthday and Harry can’t take his eyes off of Draco? It could go either way, so you decide. Most votes wins and will be what I write.  
> Please review!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the reviews. Read on to find out which side won. I finally got my new laptop and have been busy working on this chapter, in order to get it out to you in time for the holidays!

            For Ginny’s seventeenth birthday, Harry took her to the last Ministry gala of the summer. They’d been avoiding the parties since the incident and resulting media storm regarding the stained blouse. Harry hated dinner parties and only ever went because he felt obligated to go or because Ginny wanted to. She wanted to go to this one, since the negative pressed died down, so they were going.

            Having gone present shopping for Ginny, Harry went to the Burrow to pick her up bearing a number of very expensive gifts. First was the jewelry, a fine set of pearl earrings and matching necklace. Second was a new broom, because her Hogwarts letter had proclaimed her Quidditch Captain for the upcoming school year. Third was a designer handbag she’d been dying to have.

           _At least I can be sure she’ll like them, even if they did put such a huge dent in my vault_ , Harry thought to himself. All three items were on the list she’d given him and none of them were cheap. His vault had taken a serious hit when Leo’s inheritance was transferred over to a trust fund. Now it was blatantly obviously just how little money he had left and that he really did need his job. If anyone else had asked for so much, he would’ve refused, thinking them greedy, but this was his Ginny asking and she’d never had anything nice before.

            Ginny insisted Harry put the pearls on her the moment he arrived. The purse too was immediately opened and her beauty products dumped inside. Only the broom was allowed to stay at home unopened. The dress she wore was new too, having come from her parents. The shoes had been her present from George. Even the comb in her hair was an expensive present from Bill. She must’ve looked over her appearance a million times before she was satisfied that there wasn’t a hair out of place; she was paranoid after the last gala, even though this outfit was new and therefore couldn’t possibly be stained.

            With all of Ginny’s primping and preening, they barely made it out of the door on time. Harry was for once looking forward to speaking to the reporters, having prepared a short sound bite about having spent his own birthday last week with Teddy, Draco, and Leo. It was purposefully vague as to his passed non-relationship with Draco, but mentioned what a wonderful father Draco was to their son. He wanted to say it, both for Leo and as a favor to Draco, for being so reasonable as of late. He was hoping his words would make it into the papers and delay Draco from rushing ahead with the threat to marry Dane. Plus, he’d already come clean to Ginny about having spent the day with the boys at the lake, so he didn’t think he could get in trouble for it.

            Harry even had a snapshot to share with the press. Taken by Draco at the lake, it was of Harry holding Leo and Teddy, all three of them with identical smiles for the camera. It was clear from the photo that they’d had a blast swimming together. Harry said his bit and passed over the photo, but Ginny rushed him, because she’d just spotted Demelza and Dennis. After her week at Quidditch camp, she had a slew of ideas for the upcoming Quidditch season that she was dying to discuss. Demelza was sure to be one of her Chasers, as the witch had been when Harry had been captain. Thus they dismissed the reporters and made their way over to their friends.

            Harry stood quietly by Ginny’s side, only occasionally getting into the Quidditch discussion. After the war it didn’t hold the same interest for him as it once had, although he was still fond of the sport.

It was Ginny who interrupted her own fervent speech. One second she was relaying the details of an awesome feint she’d perfected and the next she was silent, the first to notice the unexpected presence at the Gala. “What is _he_ doing here?” she asked, a look of distaste on her face as she motioned with her head for Harry to look over his left shoulder. It was her birthday and she expected to have Harry to herself for this date.

            Harry turned to see Draco on Dane’s arm. This was surprising, because Draco was supposed to be taking Leo to visit his grandmother on the Black side tonight, not attending the last gala of the summer. “Don’t know. Come on, let’s go find out what he’s up to,” Harry said, turning back to Ginny.

            Ginny huffed, rather put out by the fact that she wasn’t the center of attention. But the way Harry had phrased it, casting suspicion on Draco, partially appeased her. She figured that Harry was about to be pissed at Draco for coming, which she was eager to witness. Thus she held out her arm and let Harry lead her closer to Draco. The two of them barely managed a quick parting, “See yah,” to Dennis and Demelza, the Quidditch discussion already forgotten.

            Draco and Dane were surrounded by a group of reporters, who had quickly caught on that this was the first time since the war that Draco was being seen at a Ministry function. They were all jostling for position and shouting their questions over each other, vying for the attention of the couple. Draco kept quiet, smiling on Dane’s arm as he posed for a pair of photographers. Dane waved and returned greetings, but it was too hard to distinguish any individual questions to answer them.

            When Dane grew tired of posing for photos, he held up a hand, motioning for silence. The reporters obliged, the surrounding crowd following their lead and hushing as well. Harry and Ginny, having worked their way through the crowd, now stood just behind the reporters, their attention held by Dane as they waited for the wizard to speak.

            “Draco Malfoy has agreed to come out with me tonight to announce our engagement to the world. He has accepted my proposal and we have agreed on the terms of the marriage contract. Our mothers are eagerly planning the ceremony, to be held next month,” Dane announced. Then he leaned down and kissed Draco on the lips, for show.

            Always being one to revel in the attention, Draco deepened the kiss and gave the crowd a bit of a show, letting his hands rest on Dane’s arse.

            “Did you know about this?” Ginny hissed in Harry’s ear. It was quiet, besides the sound of a few whistles, cat calls, and the click of cameras, so she had to whisper in order to prevent her voice from carrying.

            Harry shook his head, his eyes glued to the scene in disbelief. Sure in the wee hours of Friday morning Draco had said he was going to move forward with Dane and had threatened to be married before the end of the summer, but the engagement coming so quickly still came as a shock. After all, that fight had occurred less than seventy-two hours previously.

            The reporters erupted in questions, while the flashbulbs from the photographers went off in rapid fire. The noise and flashing lights only calmed when Draco raised his own hand for silence, before saying, “I am very pleased to be marrying Dane Ndiaye. I cannot wait until he is the Mr. to my Lord Malfoy. He will make a fine husband and father.”

            “Mr. Ndiaye will be taking the Malfoy last name then?” one reporter asked.

            “I will,” Dane confirmed, his voice booming a bit the way his uncle’s voice tended to.     Seeing that Harry’s attention was still fixed on Draco and not her, Ginny’s jealousy began to rear its ugly head. She tugged on the crook of his arm, getting him to take a step back, away from Draco and Dane. Harry turned for a moment to look at her, but seeing no obvious reason for her tugging on him, his attention returned to Draco.

            “Is there any basis to the suggestion that Lucius Malfoy made regarding Leo Malfoy and you, Dane?” another reporter asked.

            “I have no problem with it, although that is not my call to make. All decisions regarding Leo’s upbringing are to be made by his parents, Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter,” Dane answered, looking to Draco to fully answer the question.

            “Harry Potter and I are on the same scroll of parchment when it comes to our son. He is here tonight. Why do you not ask him what he thinks?” Draco asked, nodding his head in the direction where Harry could be seen behind the reporters. “I am sure he will be able to answer for the both of us.”

            The reporters and photographers turned in mass then, flashbulbs blinding Harry and Ginny.

            “Auror Potter, what do you think of Lucius Malfoy’s suggestion?” the same reporter repeated the question, but to Harry this time.

            “What suggestion? I don’t always follow all of the news,” Harry admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

            “It was in this morning’s Prophet; an interview from Lucius Malfoy himself,” Ginny whispered into Harry’s ear. Even she had read it. It was mostly about how Lucius was choosing to remain in hiding in the aftermath of the war, since his freedom was not guaranteed by the current administration. He was convinced that the situation would end soon, because he and the current Minister for Magic were about to become in-laws. There was also a brief mention of Leo and what Lucius thought should be done with his beloved grandson.

            “He suggested that once Mr. Ndiaye and Mr. Malfoy marry, Dane will adopt Leo and raise the child as his own,” the reporter filled in.

            “Over my dead body! I’ll kill him or anyone else who tries to take my son from me!” Harry’s outburst was spontaneous and out of his mouth before he even realized what he was saying. He felt he could kill Lucius for suggesting this, what with the way adrenaline was rushing through his system. His heart was suddenly pounding and his face red in anger.

            “How elegantly said. I think Harry has summed up my sentiments nicely. I do have this one thing to add: Father, I will let him,” Draco warned, turning the attention of some of the reporters back to him.

            Now the attention of the reporters and photographers were split between Harry and Draco, although neither of them had any additional comments.

            “Harry!” Ginny called, finally getting her fiancé’s attention as she continued to tug on his arm.

            Harry looked down at Ginny, noticing the angry expression on her face. He doubted that she was upset for the same reason he was. “What?” he asked.

            “Come with me, now!” she practically barked the command.

            The fact that he had just threatened Lucius Malfoy’s life finally dawning on him, Harry nodded and agreed to go. He followed Ginny out into the relative privacy of the outer gardens that surrounded the restaurant. Still they cast a number of spells to prevent eavesdropping, before either of them spoke.

            “What the fuck was that about, Harry?” Ginny asked angrily.

            “Which part? I wasn’t expecting any of it. Draco wasn’t even supposed to be here tonight,” Harry replied.

            “How about the part where you told the Daily Prophet and all of the other papers in existence that you are going to kill Lucius Malfoy over a harmless suggestion?” Ginny asked. Truthfully it would make her very happy if Dane were to adopt the little brat, because it would get Leo out of her and Harry’s life. It was a win-win scenario as far as she was concerned. She’d never for a moment thought that she might be on the same side as Lucius in anything, but in this, she unexpectedly found herself in agreement with the evil git.

            “He had no right to say that!” Harry scrubbed his face with his hands as some of the anger seeped out of his sails. He was so worked up that he failed to notice that Ginny had called the offensive suggestion harmless. “But I probably did overreact a bit.”

            “A bit? You think?” she asked sarcastically.

            “Yeah, a bit. It just took me by surprise, is all. Look, I’m sorry I made a scene; I’m ruining your birthday, aren’t I?”

            “Yeah, you are.”

            “I don’t mean to. It’s just that this all came out of left field and I wasn’t expecting it. I don’t even know where Leo is right now. Merlin, I hope Dromeda or your mum has him. I really need to find out. They should be about to start serving the appetizers. How about you go in and start without me? I just really need to ask Draco where Leo is. Then I’ll be in and we’ll spend the rest of the evening celebrating your birthday. No more Draco and Dane, I promise.”

            “There better not be,” Ginny said, before nodding, huffing, and taking off in the direction of the door. Mostly she was letting Harry have this chance to talk with Draco, because she still assumed that Draco would be getting yelled at. She secretly hoped this started a huge fight between the wizards and caused Harry to remember what a prick Draco was.

            Harry followed, but only until he ran into George and Angelina on the patio.

“Harry, Ginny just ran past us. She seemed pretty pissed by the look of her,” George said.

            “Yeah, well what else is new?” Harry asked sarcastically, before an idea popped into his mind. It would be better if he wasn’t seen ushering Draco away from the party into the secluded garden. “Listen, I need to speak to Draco. Could you two go in there and ask him to come out here to talk to me? I want to find out where he left Leo and then I’ll deal with Ginny,” Harry said.

            “Of course, Harry,” Angelina agreed. George, by her side, nodded.

            Harry sighed in relief. He watched as George and Angelina entered the restaurant, looking through the glass door to see them heading straight over to Draco. He saw Draco glance at the door, before heading in his direction. Knowing that Draco was on his way, he went deeper into the gardens and recast the spells to prevent eavesdropping, just in case. Draco soon joined him, raising an eyebrow in silent question of what was going on. Harry wanted to know the same.

            “What are you doing here?” Harry asked, going with his first question first.

            “I am on a date, same as you,” Draco said, glancing back towards the restaurant, where he’d left Dane. “I thought that was obvious.”

            “Yeah, but you told me you were taking Leo to visit your grandmother tonight. Where is he?”

            “At Grandmother Black’s house, like I said.”

            “But you didn’t say you weren’t going to be with him! You just left him alone with your grandma? The woman who gave Bellatrix Lestrange to the world? I thought we agreed that her visits with Leo need to be supervised!” Harry protested.

            “She is not alone; my mother is there. I left Leo with my mother, who is on the list of people Leo is allowed to be left alone with,” Draco countered. “And I will leave here early, so that I will be back in time for his feeding, like I always am on date nights.”

            Harry was not thrilled about the idea of Narcissa having full grandmother privileges, but Draco was insistent. After their big fight, they spent Friday night going through their lists of friends and relatives, establishing who was trustworthy when it came to their son and who was not. Narcissa had been in Leo’s life since the beginning, Draco thought his mother could be trusted, and according to him, she had never done anything to hurt the baby or showed any signs that she was anything other than a doting grandmother. The one time Harry had seen her since the war, she had been nothing but good with Leo, although he hadn’t stuck around to see her interact with his son for long. Dromeda had though, and she backed Draco whole heartedly when it came to her sister being a good person. So Harry had reluctantly agreed. But then Harry hadn’t thought that this issue would come up so quickly, because in the two plus months he’d known he was a father, Leo had never been left alone with Narcissa without Dromeda or Draco around. Now she was and her barmy mother Druella Black was in the mix as well.

            “What is your mother doing here? She was just here to visit two weeks ago.”

            “Harry, I think it is time I come clean on this: Leo and I have not gone two weeks in either of our lives without seeing my mother. She used to visit me every weekend at school. Lots of us in Slytherin had regular visits from our parents. Wizard parents are free to visit whenever they like; my father was the only one who insisted on making a show of his visits by prancing around the school.”

            “Seriously? She was visiting you all during school?” Harry asked disbelievingly. Sure Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had come to the school on occasion, but that had always been associated with serious injury. He’d seen other students, especially the purebloods, being called down from the Common Room because their parents were there, but it wasn’t weekly even for the kids with regularly visiting parents.

            “Yes. She did visit a bit more often than the typical parent, which was why I was so embarrassed by her. I had her floo into Professor Snape’s office and meet me in the dungeon for our little visits. A lot of students were embarrassed by their parents and did the same. The elves just set up one of the larger rooms with tea and biscuits and left us to it and Snape would leave the floo open during visiting hours. But yes, she was there every Sunday morning like clockwork.”

            Hermione had noticed once that a lot of the pureblood students, especially the Slytherins, seemed to have somewhere important to be Sunday mornings. During their first four years at Hogwarts, there were always at least a dozen of them among the few students who didn’t sleep in on Sunday mornings, getting down to breakfast as soon as the Great Hall was open for Breakfast. Then those students would be out of sight and never in any of the common areas, like the library or down by the lake, until lunch time rolled around. Ron had suggested that the Celtic students were probably attending religious worship down in the dungeons, just like the Church of England Students were welcome to do with Professor Flitwick in the Charms’ corridor. Ron’s idea had fit at the time, although it didn’t account for the drop off after Voldemort’s return, which was particularly noticeable when the school was under such tight security sixth year. But now Harry began to think that it wasn’t Celtic worship that had the pureblood students up on Sunday mornings, but pureblood parents secretly flooing into the dungeons.

            “Did she have to stop sixth year or something?” Harry asked.

            “No, but parents without the proper security clearance, like my mother, had to wait for us in Hogsmeade. That discouraged a lot of the parents, but not Mother.”

            “Yes, well she hasn’t been keeping that schedule since you’ve been staying with me. I’m home Sunday mornings and I’ve only seen her the once.”

            “That is because she comes when I tell her you won’t be there. There are no classes to work around, only you, so there is no reason for her to come on Sundays. She typically comes on weekdays while you are at work,” Draco replied.

            “Every week?”

            “Yes. She has yet to miss a one. She loves us. I know that might be a bit hard for you to understand, because of your history. Obviously those muggles did not love you, but does Molly Weasley not wish to see you at least once a week?” Draco asked.

            “She does,” Harry confirmed.

            “My mother is the same. Are you going to have a problem with this? Because I thought we already talked about this? We do have a dinner to attend and fiancés to return to.”

            “We did.” Harry rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Alright, but I’m just worried about your grandma. Your mum can handle her, right?”

            “Yes, of course. I told you: my mother has one and only one flaw. Not being able to handle Grandmother Black is not it,” Draco confirmed.

            Harry nodded, but asked, “And your engagement? How is that happening so soon?”

            “Like I told you the other morning Harry, we already had a workable contract. All that was needed was for me to cross out the nonsense my father likes to insist upon, even though it is none of his business. That I had finished two days ago. Yesterday, we ran the revisions past both of our attorneys and agreed that tonight was the logical option for making the announcement. These things do not take much time. Now do you have any more questions, or may I return to my fiancé? Maybe yours will not notice when you take off, but I assure you, mine will.”

            “No, go on back,” Harry replied. With that, they went back, separately, into the building and found their seats at the long tables, where the rest of the guests were already eating.

 

* * *

 

 

            After dinner, Ginny made a big production over the gifts from Harry, letting everyone know he had gotten her the jewelry and handbag. If they complimented her new items, she mentioned the broom at home, the dress from her parents, and the things from her brothers. She made sure everyone knew it was her birthday and was relishing the attention. She took a glass of wine or champagne every time an elf came around with a tray, so she was quickly passing tipsy and heading towards drunk.

            Soon Harry grew bored of the talk of birthdays and of Ginny’s new Nimbus two thousand and seven. He was rather glad when Neville came up to him and asked about Leo. Before, it was like the subject was taboo among the other party guests, with no one daring to mention Harry’s son or the fact that Draco had shown up tonight with Dane, both of whom were currently out of sight. But once Neville had the gall to say something about Harry’s child with another man in front of his date, it was like the taboo was lifted and a floodgate of Leo related questioned poured in from a number of different party guests. Like all new parents, Harry was eager to talk about it. Ginny, however, was less eager.

            “Leo, Leo, Leo! That’s all you people talk about! This is my seventeenth birthday! Why can’t just this one day be about me? Why is it always him and Draco Malfoy!?!” Ginny screamed when she had had enough.

            Harry wished she wouldn’t have, since there were photographers and reporters present. Even if there weren’t, an outburst like that from his fiancé was sure to make the morning paper.

            Right on cue, a crowd formed, the cameras flashed, and a reporter started asking questions. Ginny turned a shade of pink that clashed with her hair, covered her face with her hand, and pulled Harry with her away from the crowd, into the garden. The pushier witches and wizards followed, but Harry sent them a scathing look that stopped them. The morning paper would report that they worried the Savior had lost his temper and would kill them all with an Expelliarmus too.

            The pair kept walking until they were so deep in the shrubbery that they thought no one would find them. Harry was embarrassed beyond belief and in no mood for any more of her shite. In the two weeks without her, he’d managed to forget how awful she was and wasn’t ready to fall back into their earlier holding pattern of him giving in to her.

            “What the fuck is wrong with you tonight?” Harry asked, after casting a quick Muffliato. He hadn’t even the patience to cast the rest of the wards that were needed to keep people from listening in.

            “Me? What is wrong with _me_? What is wrong with _you_?” Ginny asked, her fury equal to his.

            “What is wrong with me is that my fiancé is a horrible, stuck-up bitch, who hates my son! Draco hasn’t done or said anything to you in weeks and Leo is a baby. Why can’t you just be civil?”

            “Why can’t you let Dane adopt Leo? Then the brat will be out of our hair.”

            That was going entirely too far and it was all Harry could do to keep from slapping her. His voice was seething in anger as he exclaimed, “That’s it! We’re through. This is _over_ , Ginny.”

            “You’re breaking up with me? You’re the one who has signed away your inheritance to the Malfoys and you are breaking up with me? You are leaving me for a pair of Malfoys, one of whom is marrying Kingsley’s nephew?” Ginny asked incredulously.

            “Yes, I am,” Harry confirmed.

            As it turned out, they weren’t as far from everyone as they had thought. At that moment, George and Angelina found them, George with a large flask of muggle vodka in hand.

            George handed over the flask to his sister, saying, “Here, this’ll help,” which Ginny took and gulped.

            Harry eyed Angelina expectantly, wondering what she’d have to say about this latest public fiasco. She eyed him back, before motioning with her head for him to follow her away from the Weasley siblings. He did, grateful to get away from Ginny. They found a bench and sat. He was sure Angelina was going to ask him what that scene was all about and he didn’t particularly want to talk about it, but anything was better than staying there with Ginny _and_ talking about it.

            “How are you feeling, Harry?” Angelina asked kindly.

            That was unexpected. Harry blinked, his retort dying on his tongue. Angelina was his friend, not some bloody reporter or another Potter fan. “Embarrassed,” he admitted.

            “I bet right now you wished you’d begged off another one of these stupid galas,” Angelina replied.

            “Right now, I’d even prefer taking Draco to one of these things than being here with Ginny.”

“He does seem to be the epitome of grace and poise tonight.” Angelina paused studying Harry’s face, before continuing, “Things are that bad with Ginny, huh?”

            “You saw it; bloody awful. I don’t think I can ever show my face at another one of these parties. Do you think I’ll look like a callous prick if I don’t show up to the one year anniversary of the war gala?” Harry had already received a request for him to be the keynote speaker for the event that was nine months away.

            “You don’t think it will be held in your honor, like the last one?”

            “Oh, I already know it will be. Doesn’t mean I want to go though.”

            “I’m sure this will blow over. Just lie low and there will be some other scandal for the papers. They’ll forget all about you and Ginny, you’ll see.”

            “I hope you’re right, Angelina,” Harry said.

            They were silent a moment then, noticing the sound of rustling. Soon George and Ginny could be seen walking towards them, George’s arm draped over his sister’s shoulder. Ginny looked calmer, although completely plastered, with a twig in her hair and her shoes scuffed with leaves.

            “Hey Harry, I’m going to take Ginny home now. Can you see Angelina back to the party for me?” George asked.

            Not wanting to go back to the party himself, Harry blanched, despite the relief of having Ginny taken off of his hands.

            “No, that’s okay, I’m going home. It’s getting late anyway,” Angelina fibbed. It was still incredibly early for anyone to be leaving.

            Harry was grateful for the fib. He nodded and said, “Me too.”

            George left first, taking Ginny by side-along. Angelina followed shortly after and Harry wasted no time in apparating away.

 

* * *

 

 

            Having had such an awful time at the gala, Harry returned home early for once. He was even sober too, since unlike Ginny, he hadn’t wanted to give the papers any reason to write about him.

            Draco was surprised to see Harry home so early. He’d slipped out earlier, in order to retrieve their son for Leo’s usual bedtime feeding and other rituals. He’d just changed the baby’s nappy and dressed Leo in a fresh pair of pajamas when Harry appeared in the doorway. “What are you doing home?” he asked in surprise.

            “The gala was boring. I could ask the same of you,” Harry said, unsure if he was interrupting something, although it didn’t look like it. Still he couldn’t help looking around him for signs of Narcissa Malfoy.

            “It is like I told you before: the gala was a bit long and Leo still needs his feedings. Dane understood that I had to go. I was just putting Leo to bed. Are you actually sober, or are my eyes deceiving me?”

            “I’m sober.”

            “Then do you want to read Leo his story tonight?”

            “Yeah, that’d be great,” Harry said, picking up the book on the top of the stack.

            Draco turned to the soiled nappy, vanishing it to the laundry area for Kreacher to deal with. Then he sat on the rocker and waited.

            “The Brave Little Lion,” Harry read, holding the cover out so that Leo could see.

            “Nion,” Leo repeated, smiling. He obviously knew this book.

            Harry opened the book and read, “There once was a pride of lions and an awful mean vulture. The pride of lions worked all night capturing a bit of meat to share, but then the vulture stole it away. There was a beautiful golden lion, whose coat shone in the afternoon sun. But she was a lazy lion, who loved to nap. When the vulture came, she snored on. There was a wise old tawny colored lion, who was the smartest of them all. But she was smart enough not to risk her life and ran away with her tail between her legs, leaving the vulture to her meal. There was a mellow yellow lion, who asked, ‘What is all the fuss? Isn’t there enough for all of us?’ When there wasn’t, she let the vulture have her share too. Then there was the little silver lion and she was the most daring of them all. She roared as loud as she could and said, ‘Go away, vulture, this share is _mine_!’ The vulture was so scared it flew away, leaving the brave little lion to eat her meal in peace.”

            “Nion, nion,” Leo said, when Harry finished reading.

            Harry looked over to Draco and asked, “Really? That’s the story? I thought something called The Brave Little Lion was going to be good.”

            “It’s a children’s story about lions, what did you expect? Something about Dumbledore saving the world?”

            “Yeah, that would’ve been better.”

            “Well then you go find it for him. I haven’t seen one like that. Excuse me for only finding boring books about lions,” Draco retorted.

            “And why is it that the Slytherin is always the best character in all of your stories, even the ones about lions?”

            “What Slytherin character? There’s no such thing as a Slytherin lion.”

            “The silver lion? Silver is a Slytherin color? And the Gryffindor one is always stupid or lazy.”

            “What are you on about now, PaPa? I haven’t bought any story books about the Hogwarts houses.”

            “The gold lion is lazy? Gold if a Gryffindor color,” Harry drawled.

            “It’s also a shade a lion might be: golden yellow.”

            “And another thing, in his favorite story about the ducks, the _red_ duck is the one with the shoddy spell casting.”

            “Guck?” Leo asked hopefully.

            “You are really reading into these children’s stories aren’t you? And here I was thinking the story was about four pretend ducks.”

            “Guck, guck!” Leo repeated.

            “In all of your stories it’s the same thing: the red or gold character sucks and the silver or green character is the winner. In that one about the tortoise and the hare, the tortoise is green and the hare is reddish brown.”

            “When was the last time you saw a red tortoise and a green hare?”

            “Guck!” Leo screamed, turning the word into a cry.

            “Oh here, Leo, calm down Sweet Lion,” Draco said, handing over the stuffed duck from the shelf.

            Leo clutched the duck happily.

            “And what about in that story with the evil _red_ sorcerer and the heroic _green_ kid who saves the day?” Harry asked.

            “That story is about you, you imbecile! You have _green eyes_. The Dark Lord had _red eyes_. What is _wrong_ with you tonight? Did you strike out with your Weasley, so you came home in a bad mood to take it out on us?” Draco asked, hitting the nail on the head.

            Harry deflated as he realized that was exactly what he had been doing. “The green kid did have a scar on his head, didn’t he?” he admitted.

            “Yes, he did. That is the last time I buy a book about you; I am sticking to the free ones your Granger sends. Here I was thinking it was the least pretentious of the Savior books, because it didn’t refer to you by name and drew you as a baby goat.”

            “Sorry. Look, I did have a bad night with Ginny. I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that; they’re only stories.”

            “That’s right, they are. I’d like to point out that even the muggles agree that green is the color of good and red evil. Just look at those flashing lights they put up all over town. And, if you haven’t noticed, benign light magic is often green, while dark spells are red. So that is where these books are getting their color assignments from.”

            “Alright fine, you win, Father,” Harry conceded, although he still thought it was a bit of a coincidence that the silver lion was brave, while the golden one was lazy.

            “Thank you, PaPa. Now you have Leo all wound up again, so you better read the one about the ducks. And do not go insulting the red duck by calling him a Gryffindor again. I don’t want you tainting his favorite story with your petty house rivalry,” Draco said handing over said book.

            Harry took it and read. Then he made Draco teach him the first few lines of the German lullaby about the prince, to make his earlier outburst up to Leo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Christmas! I hope you enjoyed this present I am giving to all of you readers. Obviously, the public fight won by a landslide, so there you have it. But just because Harry has gotten rid of Ginny, doesn’t mean he’s worked up the courage to ask Draco out. Hermione will finally come home next chapter and she will help with that.  
> Please leave me presents in the form of reviews!


	27. Chapter 27

            In the aftermath of his breakup with Ginny, Harry found himself in a state of uncertainty, not sure what he should do. He knew he’d been miserable with Ginny for months and deep down he didn’t want her back or to go through all that drama again, but still he doubted his decision. It didn’t help that the press was hounding him nonstop for interviews, wanting every detail of the breakup. The daily articles on the subject were fuel for the public’s obsession over his private life, which was something that he thought was none of their concern and wished they would leave alone.

            That both Ginny and Draco were talking to the press, added to the momentum the story had. Ginny was initially accredited with a short and simple statement about the breakup and that she was not going to comment further at that time. And well, after her public and highly embarrassing blowup at the gala, it was no wonder she wanted to keep out of the spotlight. But after Draco’s interview made the front page of the Prophet on the second morning after the incident, she was spurred into talking. Most of what she said didn’t help her case, but she did manage to garner some support from the public. After all, she had been by Harry’s side during the final battle and was a war hero. Everyone thought it was the perfect match and that Harry would have to be crazy to dump her.

            As for Draco’s interview, it was mostly about Leo and Dane. He spoke of his postwar life of caring for his son and of his recent engagement and upcoming wedding. There was a bit about his father and a clear statement that he supported his father when it came to Lucius’ freedom, but not when it came to plans for Dane to adopt Leo. There was only a very short statement that he and Leo really did not know Ginny Weasley and he was not intimately familiar with what had happened between Ginny and Harry, because he had already left the gala before the breakup went down. It seemed very benign to Harry and to most everyone else who was familiar with the situation. Out of all of the things Draco _could_ have said, the fact that he’d chosen to say almost nothing greatly impressed Harry.

Ginny, on the other hand, was incredibly pissed that Draco claimed not to know her. She had dozens of reporters ask how it could be that she didn’t know the wizard who had Harry Potter’s child, when Draco and Harry were living together and they had all spent five years at Hogwarts together. How could she have been engaged to Harry for months and not know his son? Not wanting to admit to her dislike for the little brat or her own horrible behavior, she had been very vocal about insisting that Draco’s statement was untrue and that she did know both Draco and Leo Malfoy.

Never one to back down, Draco then revealed his and Harry’s agreement to keep Ginny away from Leo to the press, but kept it incredibly short, giving no explanation as to the reasons behind this decision. In the absence of explanations from Draco and Harry, the media turned to questioning anyone who knew Harry, Draco, or Ginny. Many people came forward attesting to having seen Harry with Ginny or Draco and Leo, but never with all three. With no one to testify that they had seen the four together, it became clear that Draco spoke the truth. And that turned up the heat on Ginny to explain the situation, since she was the only one talking.

Ginny obviously couldn’t admit her fault in the matter, so she did the only thing she could do: turn on Draco. She gave numerous interviews vilifying him, listing every single lie he’d ever told her, and blaming him for her breakup with Harry. She said that Harry was keeping Draco away from her, not keeping her away from Leo. She also claimed that Draco manipulated Harry into dumping her and was responsible for all of the strain in the relationship.

Draco responded to all of Ginny’s accusations by simply stating, “I really have only had a handful of very short encounters with the Weasley witch since the war. I have no idea where she is getting any of this nonsense. I have no further comment.”

With Ginny talking and Draco not, the media filled in the silence with recounting Draco’s and his father’s role in the war and the fact that they were both marked Death Eaters. The Malfoy reputation had taken a serious hit and the press chose now to latch onto that. With all of the poor choices he’d made during his teen years, they dragged his reputation through the mud so thoroughly that the entire country began to wonder how exactly Harry could stand to have been involved with him long enough to create a child in the first place.

It certainly didn’t help that neither Harry nor Draco had ever explained to the public how exactly it had happened that they came to share a child. The only people talking on that matter were the acquaintances Draco had made at the library, to whom he had told the fib about having had a sexual relationship with Harry and then subsequently being dumped once he was pregnant. Thus on a regular basis, Harry found himself being harassed over his alleged past relationship with Draco.

Harry had all kinds of people who thought that their opinion on his personal life mattered, telling him how awful he was for having had sex with Draco. How could he have disgraced his parents’ legacy by sinking to satisfying his carnal urges with a Death Eater, who was at the time planning to murder Dumbledore? How could he dump a war hero like Ginny Weasley, for someone as morally corrupt as a Malfoy? Given that he was the greatest hero of their time, how could he send such a bad message out to the children of the wizarding world? Given his current state of doubt, he didn’t know how to answer these questions. He began to question what he was doing and was confused about his feelings. He wanted to go along with what the public expected of him and want Ginny. Only now that he had had her, he didn’t want her anymore.

            Ginny was pretty, socially acceptable, already a member of the family he wanted to join, and almost everything else that he wanted in a wife. They’d been engaged and he’d waited the entire war to have her. But it had been Draco he thought about during the last time he had sex with her. It was Draco he had the impromptu episodes of passion with. It was Draco he shared a child with. Draco was great with both Leo and Teddy and he could imagine the four of them forming a real family unit, with the possible addition of a daughter somewhere down the line. It was Draco’s body he craved and Draco he wanted to build a life with.

            Draco, however, was a bad choice to be with and Harry knew it. He was stuck up, pureblooded, an ex-Death Eater, rude, and downright unbearable at times. He hated Ginny and although at first he’d kept Harry away from her, Harry had turned to using him and Leo as an excuse to keep her away. He had all of these bad qualities, but it was she who Harry was tired of.

* * *

 

            It wasn’t until a week later, when Hermione returned, that Harry next found himself in the same location as Ginny. Hermione, not being up to speed on what was really going on, insisted on it. She knew only that Harry and Ginny had recently split up and that he was no longer having problems with Draco. She was moving back into Grimmauld Place until the start of the new term at Hogwarts, which would give her just enough time to ensure she had all the right books and readjusted to this side of the world. Upon her return, she thought the obvious thing to do was to throw a house party, inviting all of their friends, so that is what they were doing. Ginny was one of her friends and Draco lived there, so they were both invited.

            Hermione had wiped her parents’ memory of her at the start of the war and sent them off to Australia. Now that the war was over, she’d restored their memories. It wasn’t easy and complications ensued. For the longest time Mr. and Mrs. Ganger knew they had a daughter, but could only remember fuzzy flashes of her, despite Hermione taking them to the best mind healers in Australia. It was only in the past few weeks that the memories had really started to flood back. She would’ve stayed longer, but she wanted to finish her NEWTs and fall was quickly approaching. Thus she returned and her parents promised to follow.

            Ginny came with her new boyfriend, Ellard, on her arm. She soon found herself occupying the same room as Draco, since he and Leo had come down to mingle with the crowd gathered on the first floor. With Hermione had come Ron, George, Angelina, Luna, Neville, and Hannah, making it a full house. They were all gathered in the little used dining room, converging over the ornate table which Kreacher had cleaned especially for the occasion and laid out with snacks and butterbeer.

            “You seem better,” Ginny hinted to Draco, as everyone else fawned over how cute Leo was. The last time she’d talked to him, he’d been vomiting all over her shoes.

            The baby really did look just like Harry and everyone had to say so and hold him for themselves. Draco didn’t seem to mind it when the other witches touched the baby; it was only Ginny and the blokes he minded, claiming not to trust them to know how to hold a baby. She had complained loudly about it earlier within earshot of both Draco and Harry. Draco had only shrugged it off, citing how bad she had already proven herself to be with babies; after all, she had made Leo cry every time she’d ever been in the same room with the baby and she had dropped Teddy. She didn’t press the issue after that, because she didn’t really care to touch Draco’s son. She was jealous of the baby with no desire to get to know him even after breaking up with Harry. She blamed that baby for the failed relationship, even though it had only taken her two days to get together with Ellard. She’d gone to him the morning after the incident and cried on his shoulder, which had led to sex. The following morning, after copious sex, they had had a short chat over breakfast and agreed to start seeing each other.

            Draco shrugged and inclined his head in the direction of one of two doorways; the one towards the front of the house and the stairs leading up. He stepped away from the party, going to stand in that doorway, so he was as far away as possible, but still within sight of Leo. Ginny followed and he waited until she sidled up next to him, before leaning his head down and whispering, “Truth has never been my strong suit. That position became untenable once my parents set me up with Dane. It does seem that the change in tactic did a better job of it. It is a bit too coincidental that the night I announce my engagement is the night Harry breaks off yours, don’t you think?”

            “I knew it! You broke us up!” Ginny accused, her tone angry, but quiet.

            “No, I think you did that just fine on your own.” There was a slight pause, before Draco continued. “I was rather surprised you came. Now that Harry is no longer dating you, it would seem I cannot ban you from the premises. But after all of those horrid interviews you gave, how can you show your face in Harry’s home?”

            “I was invited. After all that shite the papers are writing about you, how can you show your face among decent people?” Ginny asked in reply.

            Draco didn’t answer her, instead moving back into the dining room to intercept Leo from being passed to Neville. “No offense Longbottom, but I don’t want to risk you dropping him. We don’t want another Ginny moment,” he said and the group gave a light-hearted chuckle, remembering how Ginny had dropped Teddy a month before.

            “Oh can I hold him?” Luna asked dreamily.

            Having no problem with the witches around the baby, Draco passed Leo over. Luna gave him a friendly smile, which Draco returned.

            “Aren’t you just the cutest little prince?” Luna asked.

            “Ooo,” Leo replied, flailing his little arms out, one hand grabbing hold of a lock of Luna’s long blond hair.

            “Oooo ooo?” Luna asked back, as if she spoke baby.

            “Ooo,” Leo repeated, tugging sharply at the hair in his hands.

            “Definitely wrackspurts then. You best check his crib for a hive,” Luna told Draco seriously.

            “I don’t think his crib is the problem; they nest in Potter’s brain,” Draco replied with a smirk.

            There were a few nervous chuckles, but George let out a loud legitimate laugh and clapped Draco on the shoulder. Ron joined in with his brother and then Harry laughed at himself. Soon they all realized that Harry wasn’t going to get mad and everyone joined in the laughter at Draco’s little quibbles. It wasn’t that Harry liked being insulted, but that he’d gotten used to Draco’s brand of humor and found in funny, in a sort of self-deprecating way.

            “With a nest of hair like this, I do hope Leo doesn’t inherit Harry’s little wraskspurt problem,” George said, keeping the joke going as the laughter started to die.

            “Come now, this little guy doesn’t have half of the problem up top as Harry has,” Angelina replied.

            “Leo’s hair does have my softness to it, which helps tame it,” Draco admitted with a shrug. “But I think the occasional wrackspurt is good for a baby. It is what makes childhood fun. Don’t you agree, Luna?”

            “Oh yes, as long as you don’t have too many,” Luna replied cheerfully.

            “Like Potter here, you mean. Harry _actually_ believed me at first when I told him that Leo wasn’t his child! Can you believe that? How many raven haired, green eyed, gay, Potters does he think are floating around out there?”

            Everyone laughed, except Ginny, who scowled at the gay comment.

            Ron added, “Leo is an almost exact likeness, but the war was a confusing time. I think I would’ve believed you then if you said you worship your grandfather’s pissing tree if you would’ve released us.”

            “Oh it’s a shame Neville wasn’t there. That escape was about as unexpected as a crumple-horned snorkack dancing the ballet,” Luna added airily.

            And then, as usual for this group, they broke down into retelling war stories. They each had their near misses or their escapes to tell. Harry sat back and continued to let Ron and Hermione tell his, but everyone had already heard his before, so George, Neville, and Draco’s stories seemed to be the most popular that night.

            “…And then I just stepped forward and sliced the giant head clean off!” Neville concluded one of his with a laugh.

            “Fred and I sold a case of our trial fudgsicles to these big buffoons of Death Eaters called Rowle and Thorne. Those things give you a nasty case of food poisoning, only we forgot to sell them the corresponding box of antidote!” George shared.

            “Tell them the part about what happened the next day!” Ron cajoled.

            “Why Rowle and Thorne came back, didn’t they? And they had this Ministry bloke with them, you know the Percy type, and little bloke says that he’s so and so with all these titles, directly under Umbridge herself. So I says to him, that if he’s with Umbridge, that I am so incredibly sorry and to please take a box on Ton-Tongue Toffee. Then we sold him a box of soot in a Peruvian Instant Darkness powder box and the bloke never came back,” George concluded, to more laughter.

            Dromeda was at this party too, having come at Draco’s invitation, and although Teddy wasn’t getting nearly as much attention as Leo, she didn’t mind. At the moment, Teddy was down for a nap. She had an ear peeled for the baby, but she was watching Draco and Ginny from the other end of the room, the latter now back to scowling fiercely at the former.

            Harry approached Dromeda and asked, “How’s Teddy?”  
            “Sleeping like a baby,” Dromeda answered.

            “Then why the look?”  
            “Oh, that? Come walk with me,” Dromeda said, pulling Harry out the second doorway and down towards the kitchen. “I was just watching Draco and Ginny. They’re jealous of your attention, you know?”

            “They are? Both of them?”

            “Yes.”

            “I was hoping Ginny and I could put the past behind us. She did come with a new boyfriend.” As Harry spoke, he eyed Ellard from across the room.

Ellard was standing between Ginny and Luna, listening intently to the stories and seemingly oblivious to Ginny’s mood. He hadn’t moved when she moved to talk to Draco and he didn’t move when she came back. He wasn’t nearly as interested in Ginny as Harry had imagined he’d be after hearing the news that he was officially seeing her. Until seeing the bloke for himself today, Harry had begun to think that she’d found someone who was a much better boyfriend and would be more attentive to her. Instead Ellard seemed to have ignoring her irrational moods down.

            “I think you will, one day. But it is still a bit soon and the emotions are still raw.” Harry nodded and Dromeda continued, “He wants you, you know? Draco. I think my nephew is more than a little bit smitten. You need to play your cards carefully Harry, because one wrong move and you could lose them both. My sister is already planning the wedding and they leave tomorrow for Austria.”

            Harry knew that Draco and Leo were scheduled to portkey to Austria tomorrow with Dane. It was so that Dane could meet the Malfoy parents in person for a formal dinner that was required by pureblood custom after an engagement. They would’ve left tonight, but Hermione had owled saying she was returning and for whatever reason, Draco had decided to stay for the party. Therefore they were scheduled to take the first portkey tomorrow, which wasn’t until the afternoon. Dane’s mother would meet them there in time for dinner on Saturday with Lucius and Narcissa, because the first dinner with the parents was a big deal in pureblood tradition. Morowa wouldn’t stay the night, although she would be back on a regular basis to work on planning the wedding with Narcissa. Dane would stay until Sunday afternoon and apparate back because he had work, leaving Draco and Leo to catch the Monday morning portkey home. Harry was not looking forward to this next step in the budding relationship, but he didn’t know how to stop it.

            “I know, but I don’t know what to do about it.”

            “What do you want to do about it?” When all Harry did was shrug, Dromeda continued, “Lately you seem more relaxed around Draco; it’s like the four of you are your own little family. Is that what you want?”

            “I’ve always wanted a family.”

            “But?”

            “But I wanted it with Ginny. I wanted a normal family with a normal mum and a normal dad.”  
            “And normal children whose hair doesn’t turn from blue to red when they are angry,” Dromeda finished.

            “Well magically gifted children are fine, really. I love Teddy,” Harry replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Neither of the children were the problem.

            “It’s just my nephew you have the problem with.”

            “Wouldn’t you? I mean, just look at him! He stands like he has a broomstick up his arse half the time and he drives me crazy when he speaks. He’s always insulting me or my friends and he acts like he’s so much better than anyone else, just because he’s a pureblood.” That was how Harry used to see Draco, although things were no longer that way. Either Draco had changed for the better, or Draco had changed around Harry. Now he secretly loved Draco’s quirks. It was no longer annoying to him and he felt like there must be something wrong with him, because of his acceptance of Draco.

            “He was taught to be like that. He does seem to be trying. He let Hermione hold Leo, didn’t he?”

            Hermione would once again be living at Grimmauld Place and had spent half the morning holding and playing with Leo. She’d arrived the night before and moved rooms without complaint; she was sleeping in a conjured bed in the drawing room for now, although she had plans to purge the odor from Ron’s room and take it over.

            Ron would then be moved to Fred and George’s old room with the exploded cauldron remains, which meant that if Ron ever felt like spending the night in the same house as Draco, they would have to finally get around to cleaning that room.

            “Yeah, he was pleasant to her and everything. Shocked the crap out of me.” It probably shouldn’t have, considering the fact that Draco had been pleasant to Ron, Neville, and Harry’s other friends lately. Harry knew that Draco and Hermione seemed to be communicating without him, evidenced by the books and advice she sent, but he had not for a moment thought that there was an underlying friendship forming. Hermione was muggleborn and the friends Draco had so far interacted with were not. He had assumed that Draco’s talk of wanting to become pro-muggle had not yet translated into a friendship with a muggleborn. To see that he was wrong and that Draco was becoming the type of person he wanted, in direct contradiction to what the papers were printing about the wizard, was a shock. He hadn’t yet figured out what to think about it.

            “Language, Harry. You don’t want our boys hearing you speak like that.”

            “Sorry. But even if Draco is making an effort with Hermione, he’s still a jerk. What would it be like having to drag a jerk around with me for the rest of my life? We’d go to Ministry dinners and I’d cringe at every other word out of his mouth. I’d have to warn people ahead of time not to be offended by my rude date. And the papers? What would they have to say about their Savior seeing a Death Eater? It doesn’t matter to most people that he switched sides and was crucial to winning, when he was involved with killing Dumbledore and has a Dark Mark on his arm.” Harry was simply regurgitating what the papers were saying now, but he wanted someone to tell him that the papers had it all wrong and that it was okay to love Draco.

            “Harry, you have clearly started reading the papers again, just at the time when you should avoid them most. You admit you have feelings for him though?” Dromeda asked.

            “Um, no. I don’t know. I know I’m attracted to him, but that’s only lust. I haven’t managed to sort out my actual feelings,” Harry admitted. That wasn’t entirely true, because at this point he was reasonably sure he wanted Draco and not Ginny, but he wasn’t one hundred percent certain. What if he couldn’t live with that decision and then broke up with Draco? Would Draco even chose him over Dane? And pursuing a relationship with Draco would mean asking his love interest to give up on a promising relationship with someone else. Deep down Harry knew that Dane was a decent bloke and that odds were that Draco would not find someone so suitable to be Leo’s step-father next time around. Both Draco and Lucius had admitted that Draco’s prospects for an arranged marriage after the war were bleak and Harry didn’t want to put Draco back in the situation of being a single-parent forced into marriage by an overbearing father. It was wrong and would mess up this responsible co-parent vibe he had going on with Draco. Thus he had to be sure before he made his move.

            “Well we should be getting back to the party, but later you should think about this more. I don’t think your friends Ron and Hermione will leave you for wanting to be with someone like Draco Malfoy; the three of you have been through too much for that. But you need to find out how you feel, before you do anything.”

            “Yeah, alright,” Harry conceded and allowed Dromeda to lead him back to the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is a bit of advice from Dromeda. I see her as a more pro-Draco parental figure than Arthur and Molly. I think she has been rooting for Harry and Draco to get together for a while now, but has been wise enough to keep silent. Up next will be the after party, in which Harry and Hermione are alone and she can give her own two cents on the situation.  
> Please Review!


	28. Chapter 28

            The next day, after everyone had gone home and they put the house back in order, Harry and Hermione set to trying to deodorize Ron’s old room. Draco, having been invited to Dromeda’s for Tea with Molly, had left and taken Leo with him. Ron had gone back to the Burrow that morning, after staying the night, because he hadn’t finished his reading for Auror training. Mostly, Ron wanted to get back before his mum noticed he was missing and had stayed the night with his girlfriend.

            “It’s good that Draco is making an effort to get to know them,” Hermione said, referring to Dromeda and Molly, while spraying the carpet with a super strong magical carpet deodorizer and working the liquid in with a scrub brush in her other hand. They were both dressed in old clothes, Harry in the last of his Dudley collection, and Hermione with her poufy hair tied back and a pair of thick yellow gloves up to her elbows.

            “Yeah,” Harry confirmed. He was pulling things out from under Ron’s old bed, sorting through them, and tossing most of it. There were a few dishes filled with rotten food and he had a feeling that was the cause of the smell; they certainly smelled horrible.

            “You two seem to really be getting along.”

            “Yeah.” Harry separated a spoon from a moldy bowl of porridge, creating a sickening sticky sound that made him want to puke.

            “But not you and Ginny.”

            “Hmm.” Harry tried to make the sound as noncommittal as possible, keeping his gaze focused on the trash bag as he scooped moldy porridge out of the bowl, watching it plop down into the black muggle plastic bag. He didn’t quite feel up to talking about the breakup yet and hoped to avoid the coming discussion.

            “Did something happen you didn’t tell me about?” Hermione asked, looking up from the carpet.

            Harry slowly put down the empty bowl and spoon, placing them to the side. That was an understatement, because he had barely told Hermione about anything in either relationship. She had heard from Ron and others about the breakup, but not any of the details. She also knew a bit of what was going on with the Draco and Leo situation, but not how Harry felt about any of it. He sighed and rested his forehead against his forearm on the mattress. “It wasn’t working,” he finally admitted.

            “What wasn’t working?” Hermione sounded concerned, coming to stand behind Harry after putting her spray bottle and scrub brush down, though she still wore her large rubber gloves.

            “Me and Ginny. She’s not what I want.”

            “And Draco is?”

            It was all Harry could do to nod as he let his emotions finally flow. He took in a gasping breath and let a sob wrack his chest as the enormity of finally admitting his true feelings overcame him. Hermione’s arms surrounded him, engulfing him in a hug. He sunk back into her safe, familiar embrace. With her he didn’t have to worry about it being what he wanted or what was socially acceptable; she was just a friend and unlike Ron, she was the type of friend he could share his emotions with. He hadn’t realized how much he missed her until this moment.

            “It’s alright, Harry. If he’s who you want, then you should go for it. It doesn’t matter what anyone else will think. All that matters is that it makes you happy,” Hermione said soothingly, as she ran her gloved hand comfortingly up and down his back. She had only been back in the country for two days, but that was enough to catch up on what the reporters were writing. She also hadn’t missed the fact that Harry hadn’t denied it when Draco had called him gay or the longing looks Harry gave Draco.

            Harry nodded into the embrace and let her hold him. He really needed this, Hermione having left too soon after the war and been gone for too long.

            Several minutes later, Harry pulled himself together and shifted away from Hermione enough to wipe his face on his sleeves. He gave a weak chuckle and asked, “I’ve made a real mess out of my life, haven’t I?”

            “No, it’s not too late to fix everything Harry. Don’t you see? All you need is one honest conversation and then everything can change. It will make things so much easier.”

            “But what about what the papers will say? The public?”

            “It doesn’t matter. This is your life and you’re free to live it the way you want. When have you ever let them stop you before? Don’t let them stop you now; they would have held you back from going after Voldemort if they could have.”

            “And then we’d never be free of the evil git,” Harry replied with another nervous chuckle.

            “Yes, so the way I see it, they owe you for saving them. They will have to accept you the way you are or defeat the next dark lord themselves.”

            “There’s not another one out there already, is there?”

            “No, and I hope there never is, but you know what I mean.”

            Harry nodded, because he did know. “Do you really think they’ll come around?” He waved his hands in the air, to indicate the general wizarding public.

            “Yes, Harry, for you they will. It doesn’t matter who you love; they’ll love them too.”

            Harry smiled at that and gave Hermione a short hug, before saying, “I hope you’re right.”

            “I am. They will take their cue from you, but you do need to give that cue.” Here Hermione was referring to the fact that Harry had yet to make a statement since his breakup.

            Harry cringed, but nodded his head. The storm was not blowing over and it seemed inevitable that at some point he’d have to give a statement and set the world straight. It was his general policy to never respond to the gossip, but he couldn’t let his son’s father continue to receive these daily beatings in the press and not speak up about it. He’d felt like a cad reading the paper that morning and was particularly ashamed at what he’d said to Dromeda about Draco the day before. In the light of day, with Hermione by his side, he knew what he said was wrong. He was just grateful he’d only said it to Dromeda, so that his shame would stay private. “But what about Ron and the Weasleys?”

            “Well a few of them are a bit upset about the breakup, but they all saw it coming. Molly said that she considers you like a seventh son, Harry. That means you are more to her than just Ginny’s ex-boyfriend. And look where Malfoy is right now: visiting with Dromeda _and Molly_ , which means she is already starting to accept him. Where Molly goes, the rest of the family follows. Things might be rough at first, but everything will go back to normal eventually.”

            “But Draco…”

            “Has a big mouth and a biting wit, I know. But you saw how things were yesterday, Harry; once it was clear he was just taking the piss out of you for a laugh, everyone laughed. He actually is quite funny if you don’t take his humor personally and you don’t seem to be taking it personally anymore.”

            “Yeah, it stopped bothering me a while ago,” Harry admitted with a shrug.

            “Then there’s no problem and everything is settled.”

            “But Hermione! What if I mess everything up? What if I’m wrong and he’s not the one. What if I can’t stand his humor next month and then we break up? We have Leo and Teddy to think about!” Harry was still worried about ruining Draco’s life. That was now his main concern, because he was currently so ashamed of his actions that he didn’t think he could compete with Dane. He thought Dane was the better man and that Draco was better off with Dane.

            “Leo and _Teddy_?” Hermione asked pointedly.

            “Yeah, why?” Harry asked and when Hermione kept quiet, he hastened to explain what had been going on. “He’s good with Teddy and Teddy likes him. They’re related and have gotten close. I think, er…I think Draco might be willing to adopt Teddy with me if it came to that.”

            Harry wasn’t sure that he wanted to adopt Teddy, because that would mean taking the baby away from a loving grandmother. But, if something ever happened to Dromeda, he’d adopt Teddy in a heartbeat and he was beginning to think Draco would too.

            “That’s great!” Hermione replied enthusiastically. “I didn’t know he was so paternal, but if he is that accepting of Teddy, then all the better. The four of you can be a little family together.”

            “That’s what I want.”

            “But you don’t want to risk losing it.”

            “Yeah.”

“Harry, if you do nothing, you _will_ lose it. Draco is not the type to wait around for you. He is engaged to Kingsley’s nephew and the wedding is only weeks away. If you don’t act quickly, he will be married and unavailable before you pull your head out of your arse. What are you going to do then? It’s only a matter of time before it’s too late.”

            The idea of Dane marrying Draco had bile rising up in Harry’s throat. His heart raced, sweat broke out on his brow and the back of his neck, and he felt inexplicably angry all of a sudden. He’d been trying to suppress this jealousy, but one mention of the situation from Hermione had the monster inside him roaring to be let out. He felt like he should floo over to Dromeda’s that minute and claim Draco for himself.

            “You don’t like that idea, do you Harry?” Hermione asked.

            “No, I don’t. Not at all,” Harry confirmed.

            “Then you should act before you lose him. It’s not fair to him to wait until the wedding day and then speak up. Their mums need to be told, so that they can stop planning.”

            “You are assuming that Draco will call the wedding off when he finds out.”

            “You don’t think he returns your feelings then?” Hermione asked and Harry shook his head. “Then you need to pull your head further out of your arse than I realized. Take a good look at him sometime. Anyone with half a brain can see that he wants you.”

            “You think so?”

            “I know so. I could tell from his letters with the way he wrote about you.”

            “Are you sure?”

            “I got the feeling from the beginning that he was moving in, to be closer to you.”

            “He wanted me and Leo to get closer. He wanted me to be a dad and the fastest way to do that was if they lived with me,” Harry explained.

            “It was more than that. If he only wanted you to be there for Leo, he would have arranged visitation and lived elsewhere. He moved in, because he wanted you. He was acting a fool when he first moved in, because he was jealous of Ginny. Once he realized that your relationship was doomed without him needing to lift a finger, he stopped interfering and let you two fall apart on your own.”

            Harry hadn’t thought of it like that before. Hermione had a tendency to be right about everything and she was better with emotions than him, so he had reason to take her word for it. That gave him a lot to think about though, so he became lost in thought as they continued to clean.

            They finished the floor and under the bed in silence, before moving on to the closet. They opened the closet door to reveal a space that was completely filled from floor to ceiling with dusty old junk.

Hermione sneezed and Harry said, “Whew,” waving the dust away from his face with his hand. It had an odd smell to it, like sweat and body odor that had been left in a closet to decay for fifty years. “Do you think this has been in here since before Sirius was born?”

“Probably,” Hermione agreed. “And here I thought Molly had us clean out all of these stores of old junk during the war…” She paused, examining the formidable pile before them.

“Apparently not.”

“Is that an old chamber pot?” Here Hermione pointed to a large piece of ornately decorated pottery that was at the bottom of the closet. There was a box on top of the pot and a large amount of items stacked above that.

“I hope not, but we will have to move all of this other stuff to find out.”

They got to work levitating the stuff on the very top of the pile out of the closet and onto the floor of the room. Among the items from the middle of the stack was a raunchy painting of a scantily clad witch touching herself. “Ewe. We need to burn this one,” Harry said, covering the painting with a moth-eaten old blanket that had also been in the closet. While he was doing so, Hermione studied him closely. After tugging the blanket over the last corner of the offensive portrait, he looked over his shoulder at his friend and noticed the odd expression on her face. “What?”

“Well it’s just that you still haven’t told me. I assumed, I mean it’s rather obvious. I’ve known for ages you like men, but you’ve never said and you liked Ginny and Cho too. I assumed…” Hermione trailed off, cheeks blushing a rosy pink at bringing this subject up.

“Yeah, I like both,” Harry confirmed, glad he didn’t have to spell this out with her.

“But you’re not attracted to the woman in the portrait…”  
            “I’m sort of sick of witches at the moment. And I’ve never…”

“Dated a wizard?” Hermione filled in and Harry nodded. “But you want to, right?” Again Harry nodded. “It is rather hard to experiment with that type of thing when you are engaged. I mean, it must be very confusing. How do you know how you really feel when you have never kissed another man?” At that, he flushed with shame, looking away. The look on her face turned stern as she read his body language. “Harry, _please_ tell me you didn’t cheat on her! She’s your best friend’s sister!”

            “I didn’t! We haven’t had sex. But, er, there were a few times…”

            “Yes, Harry?” Hermione asked pointedly when Harry didn’t seem like he would continue. “A few times what?”

            “We kissed and touched, alright! The first time I was drunk and didn’t know what I was doing, but the second time I really wanted it. Only he stopped it and said that he wasn’t going to do that with me as long as I’m seeing her.” Harry didn’t even bother mentioning the third time, when Draco had cut the kiss off just as soon as Harry had started it.

            “Good. Whew.” Hermione wiped her brow, as if they had just overcome a difficult hurdle. “You know, I’m beginning to like Draco a lot more. That was pretty noble of him to protect you from yourself.”

            “Protect me from myself? He was the one tempting me!”

            “Oh Harry, I’m sure it wasn’t all of that. You were just tempted because the two of you are in close proximity and he is rather attractive.”

            Harry was about to deny the truth, but then he noticed Hermione’s face turning red in embarrassment. Thus he decided to keep his mouth shut and instead turned back to the closet. He removed another box of seemingly random items and began to sort them into the various piles they had created. Every now and then something seemed worth saving, but most of it went in the trash, burn, or destroy piles.

            “It was rather honorable of him to refuse to allow you to cheat on your fiancé,” Hermione added, following Harry’s lead and returning to sorting out the contents of the old burlap sack she’d been working on before Harry found the portrait. It was mostly old clothes, but she thought some of them might be salvageable. Not that she or anyone else would wear them, but think of the history of it all!

            “And he did release us on Easter,” Harry replied, tossing an old broken yo-yo into the trash pile.

            “And told us where to find Hufflepuff’s cup.”

            “We wouldn’t have won the war so quickly without him.”

            “And he’s been taking care of Leo all this time. I don’t think you have any idea yet just how much work a baby can be.”

            “I do. I watched Leo by myself once. It was a _lot_ of work.”

            “Yes, but Draco does that every day. Draco is clearly good with him.”

            “Yeah. He’s pretty brilliant with Teddy too. I think the little turn-cloak prefers him to me, actually.”

            “That’s a good sign. Babies are excellent judges of character,” Hermione said wisely, looking up momentarily from a beautiful old gown she had just cleaned. This piece was in decent condition and it was so gorgeous that she hated to think that it would never see the light of day again. “Can I have this one?”

            “What?” Harry asked, glancing behind him as he rummaged in the closet, pulling out a broken old lamp for the trash pile. “Oh yeah, sure. And he’s so much easier to talk to than Ginny.” Now that he was talking, everything was just flowing out of him. “I never would’ve thought Draco was the easy one to talk to. He’s not so demanding either. Everything’s just easier with him.”

            “Thanks! I sort of thought that demanding was your type,” Hermione implied with a snicker, as she hung the gown up and hooked it onto the bedroom door to keep it from getting any more wrinkled than it already was, which probably wasn’t possible.

            “Draco is demanding too, but his demands seem more reasonable. His are mostly to do with taking proper care of Leo and Teddy and making sure they’re safe. He never told me not to see her, but she tried to tell me to kick him and Leo out a few times.”

            “She didn’t?” Hermione asked aghast.

            “Yep, she did. I told her no though; they’re staying. At least until the…” Harry trailed off, unable to say the word wedding. “I want him and Leo to stay. It’s just so much easier with them here, you know? I don’t have to worry about visitation, because I see them all the time.”

            “Well, all the more reason to hurry along and tell Draco how you feel. Once he knows, I’m sure he will stop the wedding. You need to tell him you want things between the two of you to move forward and that you want him to stay.”

            “Do you think he will stay, Hermione? If I asked right? You really think he’ll leave Dane to be with me?”

            “Harry, with the way he was looking at you yesterday and this morning, he’ll stay.”

            “Is it right though? To break up him and Dane? Dane’s such a good guy and…” Harry felt weird saying that he didn’t think he could compete. Luckily he didn’t have to, because Hermione knew him well enough to guess it.

            “Yes, Harry, I do. I think Draco only turned to Dane because he began to accept the fact that he couldn’t have you. He’s been very mature about the whole situation. But deep down, the one he really wants is you.”

            “How do you know? How can you be sure?”

            “I know. I can tell by the way he looks at you and at Leo. He fancies you and he wants the three of you to be a proper family.”

            “But what if…?” Harry trailed off, unable to voice his worst fear.

            “What if what, Harry?”

            “What if I’m not good enough for him? What if I don’t love him enough? What if he would be better off with Dane and I ruin it?”

            “You are good enough, Harry,” Hermione said reassuringly.

            “But what if I’m not?”

            “Do you love him?”

            “Yes, no, I don’t know,” Harry wailed, tugging at his messy hair, due to his heightened level of anxiety.

            “Alright, let’s figure it out. If you could be with anyone in the world, who would it be?”

            That was an easy one. “Draco.”

            “Why?”

            “What? I don’t know.” Harry was pulling at his hair again. Why did Hermione always ask the tuff questions? Why did she always make him face his fears and worse, his feelings?

            “I think you do know.”

            “Alright fine, he’s perfect, okay? He’s hot and funny and smart and wonderful. He’s absolutely brilliant with Leo and Teddy and he makes spending time together so much fun. He always puts the kids before himself. I never thought he could be selfless, but with his family, he is.”

            “And that means a lot to you?”

            “Merlin, yes! He’s changed Hermione. I never would’ve imagined it, but he’s trying to be a better person, even when it doesn’t come easy to him. I mean, just look at how he’s trying to be pro-muggleborn, so that Leo doesn’t have to grow up with the same prejudices he did! And he didn’t even want to date Dane at first, because of prejudice, and now they’re getting married.”

            “He certainly does not make a proper racist, despite how hard he tried. And like you keep saying, he couldn’t kill Dumbledore,” Hermione added.

            “No, he couldn’t. He’s not like that. He’s not that type of person.”

            “And you love that about him.” Harry nodded and Hermione continued, “And you love him.”

            “But do I love him enough?” Harry asked, pleadingly. He wanted his friend to say yes and to give him the push he needed to do what deep down he wanted to do most.

            “Only time will tell.”

            “It’s not fair to him to break up his relationship with Dane.”

            “It’s not fair to him to take that decision away from him. It’s Draco’s decision what to do with his life. How can you expect him to make the right decision when he doesn’t have all of the facts? You need to tell him how you feel, before he goes through with this marriage. It will be even worse if he goes through with a marriage to another man when he wants you, because he doesn’t know you want him too. If he is willing to take the risk, then that is his decision to make. It isn’t fair to him for you to make that decision for him,” Hermione replied sternly.

            “Are you sure?” Harry asked uncertainly.

            “Positive.”

            “But what if he turns me down and marries Dane anyway?”

            “Then at least you know that you tried and you can move on. You cannot keep this from him and ruin both of your lives because you are afraid to tell him how you feel. Where’s your Gryffindor courage?”

            “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Harry let out a loud breath of air as he thought. “Okay, I’ll do it then. Just give me some time to figure out what I’m going to say,” he concluded, properly heartened by Hermione’s words.

            And so they continued cleaning the room in silence, nearing the bottom of the closet.

Finally Harry pulled out the last box, the one covering the suspicious pot, which was a bad move. Suddenly the decaying putrid smell of the closet intensified a thousand fold. Being closer to the source, he started gagging as he backed away, his hand covering his nose and mouth. Hermione stepped forward and cast a smell neutralization spell. Then she cast a Scourgify on it.

“Definitely a chamber pot then,” Hermione concluded.

“Yep,” Harry agreed, levitating the pot over to one of the smaller piles. “Destroy pile for that one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they’ve finally taken care of the smell in Ron’s old room, Hermione’s straightened Harry out, and Harry is ready to tell Draco how he feels. The next chapter will be the one you have all been waiting for. If anyone has any ideas for how they think it should happen, please let me know. Harry and Draco still have a lot of things to work out and I worry I will forget something.


	29. Chapter 29

            When Draco came home from visiting Dromeda and Molly that Saturday afternoon, it was only to grab the nappy bag. Harry held Leo for about five minutes before it was time for them to go again. Harry, with Leo, followed Draco around as the wizard ran around summoning a few last minute items and nervously recounted the details of the planned trip to visit the Malfoy parents in Austria. Draco’s nerves were not for Dane having dinner with his parents, but because Dane and Leo were moments away from officially meeting for the first time. Harry desperately wanted to say something and stop Draco and Leo from going, but he didn’t.

            There just wasn’t time for the serious discussion Harry needed to have, before Draco and Leo were off through the floo to meet Dane at the Ministry. From there it would be a portkey over to Austria and then the traditional pureblood engagement dinner with both sets of parents. Harry hadn’t ever had dinner with Narcissa and Lucius, had only seen Narcissa for a few moments since the war, and hadn’t even caught sight of Lucius in person since that Easter he’d escaped from Malfoy Manor. And now Dane was off to do all of that and worse, be formally introduced to Leo as well. This engagement was moving far too fast for Harry’s taste and it was time he did something about it.

* * *

 

            Ron, Hermione, and Harry spent Sunday alone, just the three of them hanging out at Grimmauld Place, like old times. It was a very good day, despite Harry’s anxiety over the pending conversation with Draco. He was the third wheel, but it was the most natural third wheel possible.

            Harry and Ron even had one of their rare heart-to-heart conversations. Their natural inclinations were to exchange superficial, “We’re goods,” and sweep the matter under the rug, like they usually did. Hermione, however, didn’t think that was good enough and told each wizard individually that they either needed to have a serious conversation on their own or she was going to start it for them.

            “Er, are you mad I broke up with your sister, Ron?” Harry asked, looking at Ron, but eyeing Hermione to make sure it was good enough.

            “Mad? A little,” Ron answered, also eyeing Hermione. “It’s not like you broke up with me, but you are a wanker,” he cringed here, fearful that the cuss word would insight his girlfriend’s wrath, but continued when it didn’t, “for, ah, leading her on like that.”

            “I didn’t mean to,” Harry replied.

            “I know. Even I could see that the two of you weren’t getting along lately. You never seemed interested in what she was saying and you kept keeping her away. I only wish you hadn’t included me in with her,” Ron said. He would’ve liked a chance to get to know Leo better, even if Ginny didn’t.

            “This couldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone; I could see there were problems in the relationship when I was on the other side of the world,” Hermione added.

            “I think it was a surprise to her,” Harry said.

            “Ginny has always been a bit oblivious and off in her own world at times,” Ron replied with a shrug.

            “Alright, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I could really use a drink right now. Do we have anything stronger than Butterbeer?” Harry asked.

            And so they broke out a bottle of wine and let the conversation drift to more pleasant topics.

 

* * *

 

            The Auror trainees spent Monday afternoon visiting and being familiarized with two hotbeds of wizarding activity, because they were on the list of locations that Aurors were regularly called out to. Ideally they would know the lay of the land prior to being thrust into dangerous situations, so these fieldtrips were important. They were also some of their more stress free assignments, allowing Harry the time to mentally psych himself up for the pending talk with Draco.

            When Harry apparated home from work, the scene that greeted him was a first. He could hear music coming from upstairs the moment he walked through the front door. Grimmauld Place sounded upbeat and had a cheerful vibe, in contrast to its fading décor. Kreacher popped in to take Harry’s cloak and backpack and even the ancient elf seemed to have some pep in his step. This was all a good sign, likely indicating that Draco was in a good mood. That would hopefully carry over to responding favorably to what Harry had to say.

            Bounding up the stairs two at a time with determination, Harry heard the sound of Leo’s laughter and Hermione’s giggles of amusement coming from the drawing room. He approached the open door and saw Hermione dancing awkwardly with Leo in her arms. This wasn’t Leo’s baby music, but Draco’s upbeat wizard rock, and that is difficult to dance to with an infant. Harry stepped into the doorway, leaning against the jamb and saw Draco moving and gyrating to the fast beat by himself. It was like watching one of those choreographed muggle music videos and not at all the random mosh-pit jumping Harry would’ve done if forced to dance to this song. Draco’s body was lithe, flowing, and seemingly an extension of the song itself.

            Hermione caught Harry’s eye and greeted him with a nod in his direction and then an implication-filled jerk of her head in Draco’s direction. But she didn’t say anything, waiting for him to make his move. Draco was too into the song and his dancing to notice the new arrival, so Harry waited. He watched transfixed, growing hard in his pants at the erotic sight before him, until the end of the song.

            The next song was a wizard pop number. Hermione began an attempt at a simple side to side step with Leo, one of his little hands in her larger one, the pair laughing and giggling merrily. Draco shifted into the new song like a second skin. He danced almost in time with Hermione, the differences being one, that he was in perfect timing with the beat, and two, he was doing a far more complex dance. He was swaying his hips and lunging across the floor in what appeared to be another choreographed routine. His hands and arms expressed the meaning of the lyrics, in a manner similar to how he used his arms to tell a story, but more dramatically, acting out emotion. It was all so exact and complicated that Harry had trouble following all of the intricacies.

            Thirty seconds into the song, Draco had danced his way over to Harry. He stopped the lunging across the floor and replaced it with the simpler side step, inviting Harry to join in.

            “Erm, may I have this dance?” Harry asked, wanting to make this more than a friendly platonic dance.

            Draco nodded and changed tactics to match Harry’s formal request. He grabbed Harry’s hands, placing one on his waist and the other on his shoulder. He then took Harry for a spin around the drawing room, before settling in one spot, allowing Harry’s hands to fall from his body, and resuming his early complicated side-step dance.

            Harry started to move then, nervous that he wasn’t much of a dancer, but determined not to chicken out. He followed the side step Hermione had taught him during their time on the run. Draco sensed Harry’s ineptitude and simplified his own movements to match Harry’s. Once Harry seemed comfortable with the side step, Draco resumed his additional movements one at a time, starting with the gyrating hips. Harry tried to copy, but found he couldn’t coordinate doing more than two movements at the same time. Judging by the smile on Draco’s face, this was okay with him and Harry was having fun.

            When the song ended and a commercial came on, Harry leaned in for a kiss, despite the fact that Draco was already pulling away. Draco brought both of his arms in front of himself and pushed Harry’s chest away from him as hard as he could. Harry stumbled backward, caught off guard. Once free, Draco darted back two large paces.

            “What are you doing, Potter?” Draco asked angrily, a scowl in place on his enticing lips.

            “Kissing you?” Harry asked, suddenly unsure of himself. He thought that Draco might be okay with it, because the last time he’d tried, Draco had basically told him not until he’d dumped Ginny. Well he’d dumped Ginny and now he wanted to kiss Draco.

            Draco’s brow furrowed in anger and his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Granger, please take Leo out of the room.” His voice was cold, his angry eyes never leaving Harry as he spoke or as Hermione promptly complied. He waited until they were gone before addressing Harry. “I know engagement means less than nothing to you—that much you have made obvious by your blatant disregard to your commitment to Weasley—but it does mean something to me. I have a fiancé and I will not disrespect him or myself by engaging in inappropriate activities with anyone, not even you.”

            “But I dumped Ginny so we could be together,” Harry protested.

            “No, you dumped Ginny to correct a horrible mistake that you never should have made in the first place. If you wanted me, you should have said something before I let Dane put this ring on my finger.” Draco held up his left hand, showing off a thick platinum band featuring a tiny Hebrides dragon carved out of black onyx, with a single diamond for the eye. The dragon was of course chosen for Draco’s name, while the onyx and diamond stones represented the union of Dane and Draco, respectively.

            The ring was extremely gaudy in Harry’s opinion. He was sure he could never wear something so ostentatious, but Draco seemed to pull it off. Draco could pull anything off. Despite having already seen the ring before, Harry couldn’t help but stand there gawking at it. How could he compete with that?

            “I mean, we have already had the dinner with the parents and the wedding is weeks away,” Draco continued. “I am not about to mess that up for a one night stand with you, so that you can dump me faster than you dumped Weasley and leave me right back where I was: a single father with your child to raise on my own. If you are horny, I suggest responding to one of the vast number of owls requesting booty-calls you receive every day. But you can stop looking here, because like I said before, I _will_ _not be used_.”

            “I don’t want a booty-call. I want you,” Harry protested.

            “You sure have some way of showing it.”

            “I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t mean to put you through all of this. I didn’t know what I wanted. I was confused.”

            “But now you are not?” Draco asked.

            “No, now I know I want you. Please, I’m begging you—” Here Harry got down on his knees, throwing caution to the wind and going for it— “Please, will you give me a chance? I want us to be a family. A real family, with me, and you, and Leo, and Teddy. I want you to live here with me forever. I want to date you properly, like you said. And one day,” Harry gulped, “one day I’d like to take the next step and marry you. I don’t want to use you and throw you away. I want to keep you forever and treat you right.”

            “Isn’t that what you said to Weasley?” Draco asked skeptically.

            “No, it’s not. All I had to do with her was ask her to marry me and she jumped into my arms. And when we started dating, I didn’t even have to ask anything at all. She just leaned in and kissed me and that was that.” If only that could be that with a Malfoy, but deep down Harry knew that working for it would make it so much more precious.

            “Right, well let us make a few things crystal clear: I am not your Weasley. I will not bend over for you or anyone else without the proper vows firmly in place. I will not kiss you, when I am engaged to another. I will not set aside my life for any of your fleeting fancies. I have standards.”

            “This isn’t a fleeting fancy. Please give me a chance, just one chance, I’m begging you, and I will show you how serious I am about you. I love you,” Harry pleaded desperately.

            “You are serious?” Draco asked and Harry nodded fervently. “Let me get this straight: you are asking me to break off my engagement with Dane, for what exactly with you?”

            “Whatever you want. Whatever you will have me for, I will be it.” Harry looked Draco in the eye, willing the other wizard to see how serious and committed he was.

            “Marriage without the possibility of divorce,” Draco answered curtly, sure this would scare Harry off.

            Harry gulped, taken aback by the size of the step Draco was asking him to commit to. But this was what he wanted, so he nodded. “Well I thought we could work up to that first. I don’t mind going out and buying you a ring, but I don’t think I will be ready to take Dane’s place at the altar in three weeks. Could, I, er, have a little more time?”

            Draco blinked, surprised by Harry’s answer. “You are serious about this?” he asked again, finally beginning to think that Harry was indeed serious.

            “Yes,” Harry answered fervently.

            “Do you even know what you are getting yourself into? Marrying into the Malfoy family? Having Lucius Malfoy for a father-in-law? Attending feasts and fancy balls at Malfoy Manor for holidays? Never being able to kiss or fuck another person for the rest of your life.”

            “Besides you? If I have you, I think that will be more than enough.”

            Draco nodded, but was silent, deep in thought. He backed away, sitting down on the sofa with his head bent and his fingers rubbing his temples as he thought.

            Harry followed, waiting expectantly for Draco to say something. After several long and painful minutes of silence, Harry started babbling. “I mean, I know I would be getting your family with you. Your mum seems decent enough. And I know I don’t get along with your father, but I can work on that. It’s not like we will be living with him or anything. I think I could handle seeing him like once a month. We probably will never be friends, but you know, I could, er, be nice to him.” He would have to work very hard at it, but he could do it if it meant having Leo and Draco to himself for the rest of his life. “I could do holidays at Malfoy Manor. I would like to have some holidays with the Weasleys, or you know, both. Maybe someday we could bury the hatchet and all get together for Leo’s birthday or something.” Harry paused then, hoping for a response from Draco.

            “And the sex?” Draco asked, not looking up from the floor.

            “Will be brilliant. You and me and no one else. Just the two of us. We’ll get Dromeda or Molly or your mum to babysit Leo.”

            “No, I mean you are okay with ceasing your debauchery and only having sex with one person for the rest of your life?”

            “Draco, I’ve told you before that most of the crap the Prophet writes about me is completely made up. I’ve only ever had sex with Ginny and I’ve only kissed three people in my entire life: Cho Chang, Ginny Weasley, and best of all, you, Draco Malfoy. I don’t need to have flings with every witch or wizard I am ever seen exchanging passing pleasantries with. If I had you, then I would have more than enough to satisfy me for the rest of my life.”

            Draco did not respond, other than with a curt nod. He closed his eyes, head angled down, making it difficult for Harry to guess what was going through that blond head of his.

            It was several more grueling minutes of silence, before Harry gave in and spoke again, “Draco, will you please tell me what you are thinking?”

            “I am trying to process all this new information. It is a lot to take in. I need time to sort it all out and think. This is a big decision. It’s not just the rest of my life, but Leo’s life too. I know you are his father, but Dane was really good with him this weekend and I think Dane is more stable. If they were not involved and it was just you and me, that would be one thing. But it’s not and they are involved. I need to think about what is best for my son.

            “Then there is the rest of my family to consider,” Draco continued. “Dane has promised that my father will be free from prosecution and allowed back into the country by our wedding day. If I don’t marry Dane, what will happen to my father? Not that I mind him being stuck in Austria, but where he goes, my mother goes too. I want my mother closer. I am tired of only seeing her once a week. I know you let your emotions rule you and jump in without considering the consequences, but I don’t. Sure I _could_ throw caution to the wind and give in to my hormones, but I am a wizard possessed with a rational mind and I am determined to use it from now on. I will not jump into another mark without fully thinking it through and knowing exactly what I am signing up for. I need to sort this situation out logically and it is hard to do that with you right there in front of me. I need some time alone.” Draco had a look pleading for understanding on his face. His eyes were red-rimmed and the stress he was under was clearly evident in his face. Everything was riding on him and this decision.

            “Alright, I understand.” After all, Harry could relate. This was exactly how he’d felt leading up to his decision to pursue Draco. And he could understand Draco not wanting to make another bad decision after the horrible choice to follow Voldemort. In fact, he was relieved to hear that Draco was so determined not to make another mistake like that. He only wished that being with him wasn’t in the category of risky decisions that had to be carefully contemplated.

            “I just keep coming back to how can I trust your word that you will want me forever, when you said the same to Weasley. You were not at all faithful to her, so how can I expect you to be faithful to me?”

            “Hey! I never slept with anyone else! How is that unfaithful?” Harry asked indignantly.

            “Not for lack of trying. And you did do plenty with me that I would consider grounds for an annulment of wedding vows. You don’t even seem to think that kissing another is a betrayal, when I do.”

            Harry sighed. “Look, I know I haven’t handled this situation as well as I could’ve. All I can say is that there won’t be another situation like this one, because you are the one I want and love. No one will be able to tempt me away from you the way you tempted me away from Ginny, because it simply isn’t possible. There is not another wizard alive as hot and sexy and perfect as you. There just isn’t any competition to worry about. I would never even consider kissing another if I had you.”

            “But I do worry. That is what you say now, but there is no telling how long that will last.”

            “What do I have to do to prove it to you that you are the only one I will ever want again?” Harry pleaded.

            “I don’t know. You will have to figure that one out for yourself. Another thing you need to figure out is if you are willing to lead the type of life I want for myself. Have you ever taken the time to put together your side of a marriage contract?”

            “No, I want to marry for love.”

            “Arranged marriages do not necessarily have to be without love. I think the process of agreeing on a legally binding marriage contract is an important step to ensure that both parties are on the same page. It saves a lot of strife down the road if we are both on the same page and have worked out an arrangement for every detail of our lives beforehand. My marriage contract with Dane means that I know going into it exactly what our lives will entail.” Knowing what he was getting into and being in control of it were very important to Draco in this post-war world. “And before that, just the process of writing down my desires helped me get in touch with what I want out of life. I feel that not only do I have no idea what I might be jumping into with you, but also you have no idea of what you want in a life with me.”

            “I just want to be with you and Leo and Teddy. As long as I have you all in my life and the Weasleys, I will be happy. What do I need to do to convince you of that?”

            Draco huffed out a very put upon sigh and rubbed his temples in frustration. “I will lend you a copy of my marriage contract with Dane, so you can get an idea of what I mean. I don’t require you to agree to the exact same contract and in fact, I will be very displeased with you if you come back asking to use the same one. The process of writing one is critical and I will not permit it being skipped over in favor of satisfying your libido. It is an instruction manual for the rest of our lives, but it is more than that: it is the process of getting to know each other so thoroughly that any potential for divorce causing disagreements will be brought to the light before you even place your ring on my finger. It is the number one reason why pureblood divorce rates are so low, because couples who are not in perfect harmony do not marry in the first place.”

            “Erm, alright. How does the process work exactly?” Harry asked, hope in his voice.

            “First off each party needs to know what they want in life; really know it. Then they exchange lists and go over any conflicts they might have. Each person must think about whether they really want or do not want something, or whether they would be willing to change their life for the other. If the conflicts cannot be worked out, the courting process is ended. Otherwise, the lists are given to the family patriarchs to turn into marriage contracts. At this point input is added from the families. For example, my mother and Dane’s mother sat down and worked out a schedule for holiday visits between the two of them. Neither Dane nor I particularly cared whether we went to my parents or his on Halloween night, so we left that up to our mothers. Dane’s father is dead, making Dane his own family patriarch, which was why he spent so much time going back and forth with my father over things I didn’t care about or my father had no business trying to determine. That brings me to the final step, where the actual participants in the contract determine the final wording and are free to veto things their parents have added. That is why I was able to take the contract from my father and have it in a completed state so quickly.”

            “So I will have to iron out a contract with Lucius then?” Harry asked, sounding far less hopeful than before.

            “Yes, but I will be able to rescue you and whip him into line, if I accept your proposal to court me, that is. I really must have time to think first,” Draco answered.

            Harry nodded. Draco summoned a copy of his and Dane’s marriage contract for Harry to read over, before leaving the room. He first checked on Leo, ensuring that the child was alright with Hermione, before locking himself in his room to think.

            Harry sat on the sofa reading through the contract, thinking that the life it described was near enough perfect and that Dane was one lucky bloke. It was all far more preplanned than he would like and utterly lacked spontaneity, but a life with Draco was far from boring. Probably his biggest concern was the fact that Dane was taking the Malfoy last name, when that was something Harry had never considered doing. Would he be okay with changing his name to Harry Malfoy and giving all of his children the Malfoy last name? It would mean the end of the Potter name and he didn’t know how he felt about that yet. That is what he was thinking about when Hermione came in with Leo.

            “Well, how did it go?” Hermione asked, sitting next to Harry and letting Leo down to crawl around.

            “He gave me his marriage contract to read,” Harry said with a shrug.

            “And?”

            “And he needs time to think. I got the impression that he wanted to choose me, but then he went off on logic and reason and needing to work through it.”

            “Well that is a good sign.”

            Harry nodded, but let out a sigh, indicating that it wasn’t as simple as that. “And he said I need to do something to show that I’m serious.”

            “What are you going to do?”

            “I think it’s time I schedule an interview with the Daily Prophet.” Harry had known for a while now that he needed to do it, but he’d been putting it off, because procrastinating was so much easier than dealing with reporters. In his defense the articles about Draco and Ginny had been shortened and pushed to the interior pages, due to the break of a more pressing news story. But the speculation had not ceased entirely, which meant the wizarding world was still waiting for Harry to speak out and tell everyone his side of the story. Now that he was ready, his side would be a very pro-Draco side. “Do you think it will be enough if I tell the world I’m in love with Draco Malfoy?”

            “You need to be careful with what you say Harry. Phrasing is very important. After all, if you imply that Ginny’s allegations of you being unfaithful with him are true, then that will compromise his relationship with that Dane fellow. You don’t want to do that. Not only will he blame you for the breakup, but his temper will probably turn him against you,” Hermione replied.

            “I don’t want that.”

            “You can do it though. We just need to plan out what you are going to say. It will be fine.”

            “I hope you are right.”

            “I always am,” Hermione said, engulfing Harry in a comforting hug.

            In that moment Leo, having crawled across to the other side of the room, finally pulled Hermione’s hoodie free. She had left it on a chair, under the book she’d been reading and the heavy tomb came down with a bang inches from the baby, scaring him. Leo started crying as Harry jumped up to fetch his son. Serious discussions would have to wait, because Leo was demanding attention now.

            “I’m so sorry Harry! I will watch where I leave my books from now on,” Hermione vowed fervently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next will be Harry’s interview, so what would you have him say, besides the fact that he loves Draco? And I’m not sure, but it might also contain Draco’s decision.  
> Please Review!


	30. Chapter 30

            Tuesday Harry gave his interview with the Daily Prophet, which was his first since the war; he’d given others with different papers, mostly the Quibbler, but only one with the Prophet. He went to his favorite of the bunch of Prophet reporters, not that he liked any reporter much, but this one seemed to have a bit of integrity and was no Rita Skeeter. He’d yet to catch an article by this wizard printing blatant untruths, although that didn’t mean he trusted the guy. Thus he pulled out his usual pre-interview magically binding contract that had been written for him in the days after the war. Said contract stated that only proven facts or exact statements from Harry could be printed, nothing could be taken out of context, and Harry got final edit on the article.

            The article was the front page story in Wednesday’s paper.

 

 

**Savior Harry Potter Spills All on his Breakup with Ginny Weasley and his Relationship with his Son’s Father, Draco Malfoy**

By: Ewan MacDougal

This reporter had the privilege of sitting down with one Harry James Potter to talk about the recent events in his life. As anyone who has been following the developments know, Potter broke off his engagement to Ginny Weasley during the last Ministry Gala on Sunday August 9th, 1998. Speculations as to the reasons behind this breakup have been flying ever since, but now we have Harry Potter here in person to explain precisely what happened.

“Well, Ginny and I haven’t been working for some time now. I probably should’ve seen it coming and not asked her to marry me in the first place, because we just want such different things. I want a family, and the Weasleys are great, but I also want children. I happen to have two wonderful children, Teddy Lupin and Leo Malfoy, but she doesn’t get along with either. She told me that she doesn’t want children of her own and well, the lifestyle she leads isn’t conducive to having children around,” Harry Potter said.

“How so? Are there any truths to the rumors that Ginny is an out of control drunk?” this reporter asked.

“I am not going to comment on those rumors. Let us leave it at her lifestyle not being baby friendly. It was getting old.” When further prompted, Potter added, “Too many parties.”

“So Savior Potter, can you at least comment on the war going back and forth between Malfoy and Weasley? Which of them were you keeping away from the other?” this reporter asked.

“Neither. I was keeping Ginny away from Leo. And to make it perfectly clear, Draco isn’t having problems with any of the other Weasleys. Molly, Ron, and George have all spent time with him and Leo since the war.”

Although that sounds remarkably like keeping Weasley away from Malfoy, Potter was quick to tell me that they are not the same thing. Draco Malfoy can take care of himself, while the young parents agreed that having Ginny Weasley around was a negative influence on their son. There is clearly more juicy details to be had here, but Potter refused to give them up or allow me to speculate on them here.

Next our conversation switched to the rumors that Potter broke up with Weasley, because he was cheating on her with Malfoy. “That is not true. My relationship with Ginny ended because it was awful and I was miserable. Draco Malfoy and I were not romantically involved during either period of time that I was with Ginny.” Here the Savior referred to the short relationship he enjoyed with Weasley prior to the end of his sixth year at Hogwarts and the outbreak of the war. This first stab at dating occurred very close to the period of time when Draco Malfoy conceived Leo Malfoy, but Potter is quick to tell me that the relationship with Malfoy ended before the one with Weasley began.

“So there is no truth to the accusation that you are romantically interested in Draco Malfoy at this point in time?” this reporter asked.

“Er, actually there is. I’m totally, absolutely, and unequivocally head over heels in love with him. That may be part of why my relationship with Ginny became so tedious, but Draco had nothing to do with it. He’s done nothing but reject my advances and tell me to get my life in order. Before his recent engagement, he rejected me because I was engaged to Ginny and firmly stated that that needed to change before he would even consider me. Now that I’ve finally ended it, he cuts me off even quicker, out of respect for his own engagement. He has extremely high ethical standards when it comes to relationships and he refused to allow me to compromise either mine or his. He actually considers kissing cheating.”

“That must be frustrating for you,” this reporter commented.

“It is, but it is also relieving at the same time. I’m glad I didn’t get caught up in my feelings for Draco when they first started to emerge, because then I would’ve sullied both of us. Instead I was able to work through my feelings on my own, determine that they are both strong and true, and logically decide that I would like to act on them. As it is, I can only do my part and hope that Draco will end his engagement in order to give me a chance,” Potter said.

“And what is your part?”

“I have ended it for good with Ginny and openly declared my love for Draco. If he will give me the chance, I will court him in the manner he is accustomed. I would like nothing more than to be with him forever, make him my husband, and bring our little family closer together,” Potter stated.

“That would require the engagement between Dane and Draco to come to an end,” this reporter commented.

“Yes, it would,” Potter replied with remorse. “I realize the inconvenient position I am putting Draco and Dane in and am sorry for it, but it cannot be helped. I was not fully aware of my feelings or what I wanted until the same week the engagement occurred. If I could go back and do it over again, I would have said something sooner, before Draco became so invested with Dane. I would like to offer my formal apology for upsetting their lives and hope that they can find it in their hearts to forgive me.”

“Let us go back to what you would like to happen with Draco Malfoy. That is a strong declaration, especially regarding someone with Draco Malfoy’s history. What do you have to say to our readers who would say he is not good enough for you?” this reporter asked.

“What right do they have to say that!?!” Potter asked angrily. “If anything, I am not good enough for him. He has been stuck on the side of the war that didn’t suit him and raised by a family whose prejudices he found difficult to practice. He stuck by them, because of his outrageously strong conviction to always put family first. That does not seem a bad thing to me. Now that the war is over and he has a choice what to do and believe, I have found that his true self is not all that different from my own. He loves his family just as fiercely as I love mine, even if that meant going along with an overbearing tyrannical father. He no longer blindly follows his father, although he still wants what is best for the wizard. I do not hold that against him, nor should anyone else.”

“What about his crimes during the war?” this reporter asked.

“What crimes? Helping me and my friends escape from Malfoy Manor? Telling us the location of a Horcrux? Keeping my son safe from Voldemort? Or are you referring to when, at barely sixteen, he made the mistake of his life and took the Dark Mark? Severus Snape made that mistake too and was one of the greatest war heroes there are! Draco may have let Death Eaters into Hogwarts the night Dumbledore was killed, but the plot to kill him was known by Dumbledore and highly approved, because he was dying a painful death. And most importantly, Draco wasn’t actually able to do the final deed. Draco never killed anyone. Snape had to do it for him,” Potter said vehemently, reiterating what he said about Albus Dumbledore’s death after the war.

“What about the reports that Draco Malfoy witnessed torture and murder by Death Eaters and even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself?” this reporter asked.

“He was forced to watch and hated ever second of it. I know, because I saw it through the connection I had into Voldemort’s mind. It was very short order before he started using Leo as an excuse to get out of watching such sickening displays of debauchery,” Potter revealed.

“So Draco Malfoy is not the Death Eater son of Lucius Malfoy he was once speculated to be?” this reporter asked.

“No, he is not,” Potter confirmed.

“On a related note, what do you think about Lucius Malfoy’s legal situation? Should he be allowed back into the country to roam freely, without paying for his war crimes? Or should he be locked up in Azkaban with the rest of the Death Eaters?” this reporter asked.

“I have little natural interest in politics, although I have been forced into political matters, since my involvement with the war. That there should be no consequences seems unreasonable, as does life in prison. We need to factor in that Lucius Malfoy had almost no involvement in acts of war after he was released from Azkaban. And he and his wife committed the ultimate act of betrayal by having a safe house, known to no one else, stocked and ready at a moment’s notice; the safe house where they hid Draco and my son, Leo, until the end of the war. Voldemort’s plan was to use Leo to lure me into a trap, but without Leo, he had no bait. If it weren’t for the Malfoys and their actions thwarting Voldemort from the inside, we may not have won the war,” Potter insisted.

“So you think Lucius Malfoy should be treated mildly then?” asked this reporter.

“Yes. I do think his actions warrant a light punishment, but more importantly, I am concerned about the impact of a harsh sentence on my family. Draco, Leo, and Narcissa Malfoy all care for Lucius deeply. Lucius is the only grandfather Leo has ever known and from what I can tell, the man is a decent grandfather. I’ve seen loads of pictures to prove it. Narcissa refuses to live without her husband, so Lucius’ exile means her exile too. She is the only grandmother Leo has ever known and she is pretty brilliant with him; this I have seen in person. A harsh punishment on Lucius punishes Narcissa and Leo. Surely Lucius’ actions in the last year of the war make up for a large portion of his crimes,” Potter said.

 

            The article went on to discuss Leo and Teddy and just how brilliant Harry thought his boys were and to touch on Harry’s career as an Auror, but the important part was all at the beginning. He’d declared his love for Draco and now it was up to Draco to make a decision. Harry watched Draco very carefully as Draco read it, ignoring his own breakfast. It was all he could do to absentmindedly spoon mouthfuls of mush into Leo’s mouth. And if Leo grabbed the spoon, slinging the mush all over himself, Harry, and the house in general, then that couldn’t be helped. Kreacher would just have more work to do.

            When Draco finally put the paper down, he looked up and asked, “Harry, would you mind watching Leo for me when you come home from work?”

            “Why? Where are you going?” Harry asked in return.

            “I need to meet with Dane to talk over certain issues,” Draco replied, grateful that Hermione was sleeping in and Ron had gone home the night before. She always insisted that she was really a morning person, but so far, her jet lag had proven her anything but. Draco didn’t particularly want the peanut gallery here while he was trying to work out what he needed to tell Dane.

            “With Dane?” Harry asked, taking in a sharp breath. This didn’t sound like the type of statement implying that a breakup with Dane was immanent, making him think he’d already lost Draco to the other wizard. He still hadn’t gotten a response from Draco after his declaration from the other night either.

            “Yes, with Dane. If you are unable to do it, I can ask around and find someone else.”

            Harry was having trouble processing what he was being asked to do. He knew it had something to do with Leo, but he was so worried about the Dane part that he couldn’t concentrate. He was worried to distraction and that was never the best state of mind to be in when watching a baby, so it was probably best that Draco quickly retracted the offer.

            “Never mind, I will find someone else to watch him,” Draco said, settling the matter.

            “But what did you think of my interview?” Harry asked, his heart in his throat in anticipation of the answer. He was putting his heart on the line here and had yet to get a response back from Draco, other than that Draco suddenly seemed to need to speak with Dane.

            “I will let you know after I talk it over with my fiancé.”

            “Your fiancé?”

            “Yes, I am still wearing his ring, which means I owe him that level of respect, don’t you think?”

            “No. I think you should tell me first! I’m the one putting myself out there! You haven’t even told me your decision from the other day yet.”

            “Well I am not going to do so now, unless you want me to tell you to fuck off, in which case I will not have to speak with Dane after all. I can pass along that I told you to fuck off in a letter. Is that what you would like me to do?”

            “No,” Harry admitted glumly, not quite understanding where he’d lost this argument. Did not being told to fuck off imply that Draco was leaning towards choosing him? If that was the case, did pressing the matter shift Draco’s opinion back in favor of Dane? What was going through Draco’s head? Harry wished more than ever in that moment to be a mind reader, despite the idea of violating someone’s mind like that giving him the creeps.

            “Then I suggest you go to work and I will speak with you later,” Draco concluded.

            Harry handed over Leo’s spoon with a put upon sigh, before stalking into the hall to gather his things, and then heading into work.

            Leo called out, “Aahbla plah-plah,” after Harry, his little mouth still full of food.

            “Leo, how many times must Father tell you not to speak with your mouth full?” Draco asked rhetorically, summoning a cloth to begin cleaning his very messy son. Sometimes he thought that he should give Harry grades for child care and at this moment, he imagined writing a fat red T for Troll on Harry’s report card in the feeding column.

* * *

 

            Narcissa Malfoy was there with Hermione in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place watching Leo, when Harry and Ron flooed home from work.

            “Er, hello Mrs. Malfoy,” Harry greeted ducking his head politely, caught off guard by her unexpected presence.

            “Hello Harry, it is a pleasure to see you again,” Narcissa returned.

            Ron went straight to Hermione and whispered in her ear, “What’s going on here?”

            “Oh, Draco went out to speak with Dane, so Narcissa came over to watch Leo. She has been telling me the most fascinating stories about Draco’s childhood,” Hermione replied.

            “Like what?” Harry asked.

            “Well, did you know how much Leo has in common with Draco as a baby? That is where he gets his love of animals,” Hermione answered.

            “Yes, Draco absolutely adored animals from the very beginning,” Narcissa added. “The Manor has always had a variety of animals: owls in the rookery, peacocks on the lawn, ducks and geese in the lake, fish in the lake and in the pond in the garden, and elves in the kitchen. Then there are the abraxans, horses, cows, and sheep in the stables and various forest wildlife on the surrounding grounds. Draco loved them all, but they were not enough for him. Over the years, he had pet snakes, kneazles, crups, frogs, toads, and even a tortoise. That is why he signed up for Care of Magical Creatures Class. It was a pity he did not gain more out of the instruction.”

            “Sounds like he had everything,” Harry replied.

“No, not at all. He wanted a dragon so badly, but we just could not have one in Wiltshire. To make it up to him, we adopted one on a reserve up in Scotland and every summer we went to visit it. Unfortunately the reserve was abandoned during the war, but the dragons should all still be up there, living on their own,” Narcissa said.

            “When is Draco coming home?” Harry asked, changing the subject.

            “Oh not for hours dear. He has a very important conversation he needs to have with his fiancé,” Narcissa answered.

            And just like that, with those few words, the pit of despair was lodged firmly back in Harry’s gut. He felt awful and not even the promise of Leo’s happy babbling as the baby banged his color and shape changing cube could change that. His face fell and he took a step back, his mind reeling. His instincts were telling him that his entire life rested on what was being said right now between Draco and Dane and there was nothing he could do about it.

            “You look like you could use a butterbeer mate,” Ron said, striding quickly over to Harry, worried about how ghostly white his friend’s complexion had turned.

            “Yes, I was telling Narcissa here that we might head over to the pub. Molly is on her way over, after she serves an early dinner to Arthur,” Hermione put in.

            “Mum’s coming over?” Ron asked perplexed.

            “Yes, I think it is time I became acquainted with Leo’s other grandmother. I have everything under control, so feel free to run along and enjoy yourselves,” Narcissa said.

            “There won’t be any problems. Lady Malfoy has been very pleasant to me all day,” Hermione added. That had come as unexpected, given how the witch had acted towards her that time they’d seen each other at Madam Milkin’s before the start of sixth year. But Narcissa had apologized, asked if they could start over, and then proceeded to be very cordial.

            Encouraged by the statement that Narcissa was acknowledging Molly as Leo’s other grandmother, Harry decided to trust Hermione’s assessment of the situation. Molly Weasley was after all a very capable witch and could take care of herself. More importantly, the draw of that butterbeer Ron had suggested was strong. Thus the three young adults soon bid Narcissa and Leo farewell and flooed over to their usual pub.

            They started off with several rounds of butterbeer as they played magical darts and pool, trying to keep Harry’s mind off of what was going on between Draco and Dane. Hermione and Ron tried to keep their focus on Harry, but as young lovers often do, they eventually found themselves caught up in each other. When the snogging started up, Harry went to the bar and fell into his old routine from his Ginny days: taking shots.

            They lost track of time and it was late when Hermione realized that they should’ve left hours ago. Ron flooed home, having training in the morning, but mostly wanting to check on how his mother’s visit with Narcissa Malfoy had gone. Hermione, with a very drunken Harry draped across her shoulder, returned to Grimmauld Place.

            Both Narcissa and Molly had left hours ago, after Draco had returned home and taken Leo off of them. Leo was now in his crib asleep. Draco was the only one still awake, having waited up in the drawing room to tell Harry his news. As the night grew on he became increasingly upset with Harry for staying out so late. And when he saw the inebriated state Harry was in, his mood turned downright foul.

            “What is going on?” Draco asked with a scowl plastered across his face, his brow furrowed.

            “Sorry Draco, we lost track of time and Harry had a bit too much to drink,” Hermione answered.

            It was all Harry could do to jerk his head up to see Draco’s face, not registering the anger in the least.

            “Right, he’s fallen back into the Ginny Weasley routine, just when I broke off my engagement for him! What a berk!” Draco exclaimed huffily, rising from the sofa to storm out of the room.

            Harry drunkenly launched himself at Draco, engulfing the love of his life in his arms. Together they stumbled and would’ve fallen to the floor, if it weren’t for Draco keeping them up.

“Ya boke tings offf i’ Dah?” Harry asked, slurring heavily.

“Yes, although if this is how our courtship is going to be, I can guarantee you that I will be reversing that decision,” Draco replied.

            “Reverin’?” Harry slurred, not fully comprehending.

            “Yes, reversing. Dane and I agreed that this is not the proper time to move forward with our marriage, now that you have announced your desire to court me. We have called off the wedding and temporally the engagement too. You have two months to woo me without competition from Dane, but at the end of it I should warn you, Dane will be fighting you full out for my hand. He still wants me and if you do not measure up, I have the option to return to him and resume the engagement. Just to make this very clear, being drunk off your arse is _not_ considered measuring up.”

            “I’ma sooooo so sooooo sooo soooo-” Harry blathered drunkingly.

            “Harry!” Draco interrupted.

            “Wha’?”

            “You’re what? Finish your sentence.”

            “Sorry. Er, I’ma sorry. I ah was jus’ sooooo-”

            “Not that again. I swear I am this close to forcing a Sober-Up potion down your throat or smacking you in the head.” Draco accompanied this statement by squeezing his fingers together to the point where they were only a quarter of an inch apart.

            “Worrieee ya ‘er out wi’ ‘im ‘cause ya ‘er choooooosin’ ‘im,” Harry finished, slurring heavily.

            “I was out with him, having a serious discussion about the state of my relationship with him and what your little announcement in the morning paper meant for that. What did you expect me to do? Take him out to a Ministry Gala, get him drunk off his arse, and then publically humiliate him? That is not my style.”

            The dig was lost on Harry in his present state, so he simply nodded along. What he did take from this conversation was that Draco was no longer engaged to Dane. In fact he spent most of the time while Draco was talking staring at Draco’s left hand, where the ostentatious dragon engagement ring was missing. His smile grew so wide that it was straining the muscles of his face as he realized that Draco had chosen him.

            “Danssss ‘ith me,” Harry said, remembering how nice it had been to be in Draco’s arms the last time they’d danced and wanting to celebrate. He would’ve jumped straight to making out and trying to get in Draco’s pants, but he had just enough of his faculties left that he had the feeling that would be a bad move.

            Harry began a grinding sort of a dance against Draco’s body, despite the lack of music. Hermione, having witnessed the exchange silently waiting to see if she would be needed to help levitate the drunken savior up to his bed, watched the erotic dancing for about twenty seconds before she realized what was happening and decided to leave Draco and Kreacher to deal with Harry. “I, er, am going to bed,” she squeaked out, before disappearing up the stairs to Ron’s old room as fast as she could go without falling over.

            Draco had half a mind to push Harry off of him onto the floor and smash the clingy drunkard’s face in. He was still angry about being made to wait up, even though he hadn’t specifically told Harry what time to be home. He’d gone out on a limb for Harry by halting things with Dane and he didn’t at all appreciate being repaid with the return of Ginny Weasley’s Harry. But he was smart enough to know that now wasn’t the best time to get his revenge and Slytherin enough to wait.

            Hard and panting, Harry thrust his hips forward and ground his erection against Draco’s thigh. “I wan’ ya,” he admitted.

            “Not tonight; you’re drunk. Not before I punch you in the face for coming home late and pissed when I just broke off a perfectly good engagement for you,” Draco replied, before pressing a quick kiss to Harry’s lips. Harry’s lips tried to follow him as he pulled back.

            “Pun’ me?”

            “Yes, I am going to punch you in that cute little nose of yours. The sound of your bones breaking is always so satisfying, don’t you think?”

            “No…”

            “Don’t worry though, because I am going to wait until you are sober enough to remember every excruciating detail of the pain. That way you will learn from this mistake.”

            “Mi’take?”

            “Yes, coming home to me drunk is a very big mistake and you will learn quickly, because I am not going to be so nice about it the next time.”

            “Ya not gonna mash my no’ ‘dis time?”

            “Oh no, I am. That _is_ me being nice. Trust me, you will understand once you are sober and your nose is properly broken,” Draco said reassuringly.

            This didn’t quite make sense to Harry, but nothing did at the moment, so he nodded and went along with Draco.

“Come on, let’s take you up to bed,” Draco said.

            Harry complied and allowed himself to be led up the stairs in Draco’s arms. Taking another stair in his drunken gate, he asked, “Come ta be’ wi’ me?”

            “No.” As they spoke, Draco never faltered in his insistent press up the many flights of stairs.

            “Wh’ not?”

            “Because unlike your Weasley, I don’t put out for everyone or anyone who comes along.”

            “Can I cour’ ya?” Harry asked, recalling just a bit of what was expected of him.

            “Yes. First you must go to my parents’ house in Austria and ask for their permission to court me.”

            They were crossing the little used fourth floor landing now; the door to the master bedroom was open, letting the smell of dead ferret waft out into the still air. The part about Austria and asking Draco’s parents’ permission was such an unbelievable statement that Harry pushed Draco away, stumbling onto a dusty tattered old antique chair that looked like it had been extremely expensive back in its day. “Wha’?”

            “I want to uphold all of the pureblood traditions,” Draco replied, crossing his arms. “I am sure that if you clean yourself up and look presentable, my parents will allow it. You are, after all, the other father to my son.”

            “Ya paren’? Sealelousry?” Harry sunk his head into his hands, resting his elbows on his knees as he tried to come to grips with what Draco was saying. He thought ending things with Ginny would be the hard part, and then he thought convincing Draco to end things with Dane would be, but now it seemed that talking to Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy would be the daunting hurdle to cross. Maybe the task wouldn’t sound so challenging in the morning, but right now his head was spinning from the alcohol.

            “Yes, my parents. We can arrange a tea for the weekend.”

            “Bu’ Dane di’n’t hafta mee’ ‘em ‘til a’er!” Harry protested.

            “Dane was in contact with my father during the entire courting process, through floo and owls.”

            “Bu’ all way i’ Ausssssia! Toooooo far.”

            “We will take a portkey.”

            “Bu’ the baaabee!”

            That was the reason Draco had given regarding why he had to stay with Harry in the first place.

            “We will spend the night and return in the morning, just like we did with Dane.”

            “All p’anned, ‘en?”

            “No, but I have been through it before. Now come on, you need to go to bed. You can’t pass out on that raggedy old chair or you will flunk out of the Aurors. Mother will not like it if a jobless lay-about comes asking for my hand,” Draco said, pulling Harry back up.

            Harry allowed himself to be led up the last flight of stairs to his room. In hindsight, picking a room on the fifth level wasn’t the best for getting drunk. Once inside Sirius’ old room, he collapsed onto the bed and tried to pull Draco down with him. Harry managed to press a kiss to Draco’s lips and the blond returned it, but then Draco extricated his long slender limbs from Harry’s grasp and pulled away.

            “Goodnight,” Draco said from the doorway, before closing the door on Harry and going down to his own room on the third floor. He ordered Kreacher to set out a Sober-Up potion, but not a hang-over potion, on Harry’s bedside table for whenever Harry stirred, knowing that it would be needed. He would wait until tomorrow evening to pay Harry back. There was no sense in Harry missing work due to a little payback, nor was there any reason to send Harry into work with fresh signs of violence on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is Draco’s decision. I really wanted Harry to step up and have a mature discussion with Draco, but I felt he’d spent too much time in that immature relationship with Ginny not to freak out when Draco went off to speak with Dane. The way I see Draco’s mind working, he feels obligated to talk to his fiancé first, leaving Harry to freak out. Once Harry sobers up, they can have a much needed serious discussion about how they are going to move forward. From now on, Harry will have to work hard not to make Draco regret ending things with Dane. Up next will be a possibly broken nose, either the trip to Austria or preparing for the trip, and probably a discussion or two.  
> Please review and let me know what else you think needs to be said between these two! And do you think Draco should go through with his plan to break Harry’s nose, or cool off?


	31. Chapter 31

           The next morning Harry imbibed Sober-Up potion conveniently placed by his bed, to counter the lingering amount of alcohol in his system. Then he called Kreacher for a Hangover potion, to stop his head from splitting in two and his stomach from disgorging its contents onto his bedroom floor, again. Kreacher cleaned up the mess, while complaining that if Harry just had a chamber pot in his room, then Kreacher’s job would be so much easier. As it was, Draco had confiscated the chamber pot and dozens of other Black heirlooms from the various trash piles Harry and Hermione had made from the contents of Ron’s closet, so there was no chamber pot available.

            Harry’s memory of the night before was fuzzy. The few things he could remember were that one, he’d gotten drunk off his arse, two, Draco had chosen him over Dane, and three, Draco had promised to break his nose. Therefore when he came down for breakfast, he was quite obviously covering his nose with both hands as he skirted around the table to his seat, effectively avoiding the reach of Draco’s fists. Unless of course Draco jumped the table to punch him, but that seemed out of character for the dignified upper class persona Draco seemed to project these days. Plus Leo was in the room and he doubted Draco would want Leo to see that.

            “Not to worry Harry, your nose is safe until you return home from work. There is no time to say and do what needs to be said and done this morning or you will be late for work,” Draco said in the nonchalant tone someone might use to request the passing of the salt shaker.

            “Oh, okay,” Harry replied, pulling his plate of pancakes and melon slices towards him. In the post-Draco Grimmauld Place, Kreacher had slowly made the switch over from serving mostly eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast for breakfast, to serving mostly pancakes, oatmeal, porridge, yogurt, and various fruits. At first there was still a side of sausage or bacon for Harry, but those days were over. Not that Harry minded, because dinner now always contained a large helping of meat and Kreacher sent little packages of nuts for his snack breaks at work. Eating Draco’s diet really wasn’t that bad.

            “My mother spent the night up in Scotland with her mother, so Leo and I will be going to visit them today. They have agreed to watch Leo this evening, so that we may have our talk in private. I realize that my mistake last night was not pre-arranging a time to meet with you and expecting you to be home after work. So tonight, what time are you available?” Draco asked, while delicately spooning mush into Leo’s open mouth in a much neater manner than Harry ever did.

            “If you are going to break my nose, then I should probably stop by the pub first…” Harry hedged.

            “If you come home pissed again there will be no need to break your nose.” Draco’s tone was stern, as if not breaking Harry’s nose was a punishment.

            “There won’t be?” Harry asked surprised.

            “No, there will not, because this courtship will be over. If you have not discovered this by now, then let me fill you in: I am not Ginny Weasley. My expectations are not Weasley’s. What I am willing to tolerate is not what Weasley was willing to tolerate. If you wish to court me, you will come home sober and at the pre-arranged time so that we can have a more detailed discussion of just what courting me entails.”

            Through the alcohol-haze of the night before, Harry vaguely recalled Draco mentioning something about not liking Harry drunk, which corresponded to Draco’s attitude towards Harry all of those times he’d come home drunk after being with Ginny. In general, a life with a lot less alcohol appealed to Harry, because Ginny’s constant drinking had grown old. But in this situation where he was expecting a broken nose and probably a lecture to go with it, he wouldn’t mind having a few butterbeers first to soften the blow. However, he did want the chance to court Draco and he needed to trust Draco to be reasonable. Thus he nodded and said, “I will come straight home. Probably half past five, but six at the latest if training runs long.”

            Draco nodded and that was that. The rest of breakfast passed with a heavy silence between them and then Harry went off to work.

 

* * *

 

 

            When Harry flooed home Draco was waiting for him alone in the drawing room reading a potions textbook. Harry let his cloak and bag fall onto one side of the sofa and cautiously asked, “What are you doing?” He knew Draco was mad at him already, but if he could distract Draco from being angry, then maybe this evening wouldn’t be so bad after all.

            “Studying. I want to earn some of my NEWTs from home; the ones I am closer to completing at least,” Draco replied, looking up as he placed a bookmark and closed the text. Potions was his best subject and so the easiest of the NEWTs for him to aim for. He didn’t have much time in between carrying for Leo, but when he did have the occasional moment to himself, he studied. One day he would have time to work and he wanted to have career options available when that day came.

            “Oh, that’s good…” Harry said, hoping that the subject of breaking his nose might have slipped Draco’s mind. He was after all completely sober, as requested and on time.

            “Sit down Harry, we need to talk.” Draco motioned towards the sofa, across from the plushy armchair he was sitting in and placed his book by his side on the floor.

            “Ah, what about?” Harry asked, taking the seat and covering his nose with both hands.

            “You can stop covering your nose. I will not hit you sitting down. I would first like to explain to you exactly why I’m so upset with you.”

            Harry let out a sigh of relief and shifted his hands to his lap, where he began fidgeting in anticipation.

            “First of all, you knew I was going to meet with Dane yesterday evening, after he got off work, in order to call off the engagement. I told you that at breakfast yesterday,” Draco began.

            “Er, no, you didn’t tell me that. You told me that you couldn’t tell me until after you talk with him,” Harry corrected.

            “Unless you wanted me to change my mind and not call off the engagement. You said you did not want that, so I went back to the plan of meeting with him to call off the engagement.”

            “Wait, you never said all of that! You wouldn’t tell me what exactly you planned on talking to him about. For all I knew, you were meeting to discuss how to get me out of the picture!”

            “I told you that I could not tell you the details, out of respect for him. If I am in a committed relationship with anyone, I owe my allegiance to that wizard first. That means that if I need to end things, because I love another, I must tell the first wizard of my intentions before I tell the new wizard. This is pureblood custom and I would be very cross with you if you disrespected me by going behind my back with someone else before informing me.”

            “Oh…” Harry wasn’t sure what to say. It seemed a bit backwards to him after growing up in the muggle world, but it also could be viewed as polite and mature to end one relationship before another began.

            “And I certainly implied what I intended to tell him, did I not?”

            Draco had indeed implied it, but Harry hadn’t been certain of the meaning. Thus Harry nodded and said, “But how was I supposed to figure out that that was what you were doing, if you didn’t actually say?”

            Draco rolled his eyes and asked, “Must I spell _everything_ out for you?”

            “Yes. That would be greatly appreciated.”

            Another eye roll from Draco. “Harry, whoever is receiving the bad news will be told first, especially if I am in a committed relationship with him. I told you, point blank, that if I was blowing you off, then there would be no need to meet with Dane. Therefore, I was not blowing you off, but him. Do you understand that?”

            “Now that you’ve explained it, yes.”

            “Good. Now I expect the same courtesy from you in the future.”

            “But you didn’t blow him off completely, did you? You said last night that you are only setting aside your relationship with him to court me for two months.” This was one of the details from last night’s conversation that had come back to Harry while at work. He’d been distracted all day, trying to remember as much as he could, and so had received some of his lowest marks to date in training. Not that it mattered, because he and Ron were still way ahead of the other recruits.

            “I wanted to hedge my bet, because I’m not certain how serious you are about wanting to be with me. From your actions in the past, I have little reason to trust your word. Given your unusual upbringing, I’m not even sure that the importance of being true to your word was engrained into you. All we have in this world to make decisions regarding other people are their words and their actions. Your words have _not_ matched your actions in the past, so I find I can’t believe them now. I wish it were not so, but it is and I have more than myself to consider in this matter. I have to be the responsible adult here and look out for what is best for my son.”

            Draco did not bother to mention that there was an obvious distinction being made here between family, close friends, and other people. Other people it was alright to lie to or deceive if it was in one’s own interest, just as he had done to students and teachers alike at Hogwarts. Close friends were a middle ground, where white lies were tolerated, but outright deception not. Family, on the other hand, was sacred. One trusted family and was honest with them, putting them above all others. Harry, through Leo, was family now and Draco expected Harry to behave as such. It wasn’t easy in the beginning, but he had tried to do the same with Harry. For example, he’d tried his best to keep Harry out of the games he played on Weasley.

            “Our son. I want what is best for him too,” Harry protested.

            “That remains to be seen. You say that, but your actions with Weasley in the past have proven otherwise. I want to believe the best in you, but one thing you need to know about me, is that my faith in the entire human species has been utterly and completely destroyed by the Dark Lord and my father. If you are asking me to have faith in you that you will change, I cannot, because I have no faith to give anyone. You must prove you’ve changed by your actions. You must build up my confidence in you. That is why I asked Dane for the two months to give you that chance. Do you understand?”

            Harry nodded, because he could see the emotional pain behind Draco’s words. No one had had it easy during the war, including Draco. The wizard Harry loved so deeply had clearly been mentally scarred and forever changed when the trust placed in Lucius had resulted in such catastrophic events. It was only Draco’s strength and perseverance that had hid this from Harry for so long. Now it was visible on Draco’s face and audible in the sound of Draco’s voice.

            “Yes,” Harry said, forcing the word past the lump that had formed in his throat. He hated to be lumped in the same category as Lucius and Voldemort, but he could understand that it was up to him to move himself out of that category and into the one with people Draco loved and trusted.

            Draco made and held eye contact with Harry as he sternly said, “Coming home drunk does not build my confidence in you. On the contrary, it destroys it.” Then he looked down into his lap, unable to face Harry as he admitted the next bit. “Do you know how inadequate it makes me feel that you have to turn to the bottle,” he paused and sniffled here, “because of me? Because I’ve made your life so miserable that you can’t tolerate it sober? That it is me and Leo who are turning you from the good person I was so sure you were, into my father, who drinks to forget his problems and makes horrible mistakes by putting all of his trust in the worst possible excuse for a human being?”

            The pain was back in Draco’s voice, raw and more intense than before. His cheeks were flushed with emotion. There were drops of moisture visible on his downturned lashes, making them stand out. Harry took in the rare sight of a vulnerable Draco and thought him beautiful. It wasn’t often that he showed his emotions like this. He had once told Harry that emotions were only to be shared among family, not the public in general. That he was sharing this with Harry now meant that he considered Harry family, which Harry found deeply moving. Harry wanted them to be a real family and to heal his pain. The strong, independent side of him was nice most of the time, because it left Harry feeling confident that he and Leo would be alright without Harry. But the rarity with which the vulnerable side surfaced made it all the more appealing and endearing.

            “No, I didn’t know. I never wanted to make you feel like that. It’s not you or Leo making me drink. I was sober almost the entire two weeks Ginny was gone,” Harry countered. For the most part, it was Ginny that had him drinking.

            “But last night Ginny was gone too and you were supposed to be coming home to me and Leo.” Draco’s face was turned, unwilling to make eye contact. Towards the end of this statement, he pulled out a handkerchief that he used to blow his nose and surreptitiously wipe the tears from his eyes.

            “But I thought I was losing you to Dane!”

            “The only person who could make me chose Dane over you is you. The fastest ways to drive me into his arms are to come home drunk every night and do things to put my son in danger, like warding your room against us.”

            “I promise I won’t do either ever again. I want to court you and treat you properly; I really do.” Harry put his heart into this statement, hoping that Draco would believe him. Then he asked hesitantly, “Are you still going to break my nose?”

            “What choice do I have? If I allow you to continue your drunken behavior and walk all over me, I’m putting my son at risk. This time he was already in bed, but next time you might return plastered wanting to play with him. You make me so mad when you do things like that, that it is all I can do to stop myself from hurting you. And now that I have said it, I must follow through, or I lose the power of my word. You will continue to come home drunk, knowing that my threats are empty.” Draco was no longer crying, but his voice still sounded broken.

            “No, that’s not true. You don’t have to follow through with threats you made out of anger; I will still trust your word and I will _never, ever_ drink again, now that I know how it makes you feel. I am so sorry. Could you, maybe just this once, forgive me?”

            “You would seriously stop drinking, for me and Leo?” Draco asked, looking up at Harry with wet eyes, making eye contact for the first time in many long minutes. The grey eyes appeared clearer and more piercing than usual, as if he could see into Harry’s very being. His cheeks were still flushed and his short pale hair framed his face in gold. To Harry, he looked absolutely gorgeous in that moment and Harry wanted nothing more than to capture those plump lips in a kiss.

            “Yes! Of course! I was tired of drinking so much anyway. I just was so nervous about what you were saying to Dane that I fell into my old habits. I want to break those habits. I’m happier when it’s just you and me and the boys and I don’t have to drink anything. If you never want me to drink anything again, then I will do my best not to,” Harry vowed fervently.

            “You don’t have to never drink again. One glass of champagne, at say a wedding would be alright. But on a typical day when no one is getting married and we are not toasting anything, then yes, I would prefer you to be sober.”

            “And what about my nose?” Harry asked tentatively.

            “If you are certain that going back on my word in this instance will not harm the integrity of my word, then perhaps I could allow it.” Draco’s words were stiff, because he wasn’t sure how this would work out. Going back on his word was a slippery slope down to depravity in his mind.

            “Oh no, it definitely will not harm your integrity. Just the opposite, really. There’s no longer any need for violence, because we just had one of those mature adult discussions where we worked through our issues without having to resort to violence. That adds to your integrity,” Harry reassured.

            “If you say so,” Draco hedged. It wasn’t what his father had taught him, but then he had decided almost two years ago now that his father wasn’t right about everything. Maybe this was one of the things the wizard had wrong. Harry’s argument did appear sound.

            Now that Harry no longer feared being hurt, he leaned forward, slipping off of the sofa onto the carpet in front of Draco, to cup Draco’s hands inside his own. “I do,” he said fervently. But then he wondered where Draco was coming from. “Does your father ever hit your mother in anger?”

            “No, but my mother does hit my father from time to time. She tore up his face pretty badly when he came home from Azkaban. She blamed him for me having to take his place.”

            Harry did recall seeing a bruised and beaten Lucius through Voldemort’s eyes not long after Lucius had been released. He’d assumed that Voldemort had been responsible for the injuries. Now he found it amusing that Narcissa had caused them as a result of what Draco had been put through. He chuckled and asked smiling up at Draco expectantly, “What do you say you let me hug you now?”

            Draco nodded and stood, tugging Harry’s hands upward with him, to indicate that Harry should stand too. Harry followed Draco up and wrapped his arms tightly around the wizard. The hug was fierce and warm and Harry tried to put his love for Draco into it. Draco returned it just as enthusiastically. But after several minutes, when Harry’s lips moved to press against Draco’s, Draco pulled back.

            “Not yet. There are still many things we need to discuss,” Draco said, dropping his arms from Harry’s body.

            Harry then let go of Draco, allowing the wizard to sit back down. Draco gestured for Harry to sit as well, which Harry did.

            “So, um, what else is there to talk about?” Harry asked nervously. He had thought that they had worked everything out.

            “Our courtship,” Draco answered evenly.

            “Didn’t we already agree on that?”

            “Well there are details to go over, such as you needing to officially ask my father’s permission to court me. Don’t worry; my mother, Leo, and I will all be there with you in Austria when you ask.”

            “Wait, why do I have to ask your father? Why don’t you ask mine? Mr. Weasley will be happy to stand in for me,” Harry countered.

            “I thought we talked about this before. I am already registered with the Ministry as an available courtee, because it was the only way to get out of participating in the war and instead stay home with Leo. Plus it was rather hard to fulfill the requirements of a Death Eater while pregnant. At this point, it would take both mine and my father’s signatures to move me onto the list of available courters. I have grown accustomed to being on the list I am on. And quite frankly, you do not meet the qualifications of an available courtee. By courtee standards, you are soiled, unvirgin goods.” Here Draco smirked, indicating that he found humor in the hypocrisy of this double standard. “If I were a courter, my father would never allow the match. As a courter, your prior philandering is expected and will not be counted against you. As the Savior of the Wizarding World, my father will have a hard time refusing you as a courter.”

            “So I have to court you? Are you absolutely sure we can’t change that around? You are the future Lord Malfoy after all.” Harry was unfamiliar with pureblood traditions and customs, making it difficult to court Draco according to them. He would much rather have the more passive role in this situation.

            “Yes. It is expected, because you are Harry Potter, Savior of the Wizarding World, The Git Who Lived, and The Chosen One, which means you outrank everyone in modern wizarding society, even a lowly future Lord Malfoy. Also, I carried the first baby and with your chosen career as an Auror, I will probably end up carrying the rest, which makes _you_ the dominant partner. Unless you are willing to give up your career to stay home and have the babies, you need to court me. And lastly, while you have allowed your body to be soiled and tainted, I have not. I remain a blushing, innocent, demure, virgin, who is unfamiliar with the whiles of wizards. Therefore it is _my_ virtue that must be protected and preserved,” Draco replied, the smirk turning into a humorous grin, implying that this description of himself didn’t quite match up with the truth. He did have some limited sexual experience, after all, but he said it to lighten the mood.

            “Are you really willing to carry another baby? Isn’t that beneath a Malfoy?” Harry asked. Not that he was against the idea, but that it was a bit unbelievable and he had trouble imagining it. It was also the most important bit of information Draco had given him so far tonight and one of the things he secretly wished for most in the world.

            “Yes, I am. I’m strong enough in my masculinity to bring a life into this world. I don’t think I trust you to it. Why, is that what you want?”

            “No.”

            “And do you want there to be any chance that the next child takes your name?”

            Harry gasped in surprise; Draco it seemed was full of them. “You would do that?”

            “I _could_ give a child your name, if you were the dominant partner and courted me properly. If I have to court you, my father will insist on you and all possible future children taking the Malfoy name. And you would _still_ have to meet him. Are you prepared for that?”

            “Merlin no, but I will meet him for you.” Harry shuddered. “And in order to ask his permission to court you, I have to go with you to Austria, like in person?”

            “Preferably. If my father were more disposed towards you, you would be able to do it without me. But as it is, he is rather against the proposition. You will need me and my mother there to force his hand.”

            Harry let out a put upon sigh at the thought of having to go through Lucius Bloody Malfoy, but nodded his capitulation.

            “Great. I will arrange for us to spend this weekend in Austria,” Draco concluded.

            “What about you meeting my family? Doesn’t this work the other way around too?” Harry asked, wanting to know what he could get out of the deal.

            “I have met your family: Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Molly Weasley, George Weasley, Andromeda Tonks, Edward Lupin…need I go on? You already indicated that you aren’t on speaking terms with your muggle relations.”

            “You haven’t met Arthur or Bill. Molly’s been dying to have you and Leo over for Sunday dinner for ages. Now that we are courting, you can’t keep Leo away from Sunday dinners any longer.”

            “If you wanted your son to attend these Sunday dinners with your family then it is your responsibility to say so and take him there, regardless of my relationship with you,” Draco said sternly, as if he were the one put out by Leo not spending more time with the Weasleys. “Provided you arrange for Ginny Weasley to not be there, of course.”

            “Wait, seriously? Leo could’ve been going over to the Weasleys all of this time, if I’d asked and made sure Ginny wasn’t around?”

            “Yes. I told you that when I came, did I not?” Draco asked confused.

            “Erm, not that I recall…”

            “I told you that my aim was to make you be a responsible parent to our son. I have forced your hand, making you be just that, as much as I felt was appropriate to do so. I have been waiting all of this time for you to take the initiative yourself and decide what being a proper parent entails. So far you have told me only that you wish to watch him when I go out, some of the time, and that you like taking the boys to the park and reading stories, all of which I have allowed and encouraged. You’ve said nothing about taking Leo by yourself to visit anyone. I admit I am rather disappointed with you in that regard. That is why I have taken it upon myself to get to know Molly Weasley, but you can’t expect me to do all of your parenting for you.”

            Harry was a bit blown away by that statement, because clearly there had been a failure of communication. Of course most of the Sunday dinners Leo wouldn’t have been able to go to with Harry, because Ginny was around, but there were a few that Harry could’ve taken the baby to. Ultimately he had to admit that Draco had a point that he hadn’t made his wishes with regards to the Weasleys very clear. He had just assumed that since Draco didn’t feel comfortable going over there that Draco wouldn’t want Leo going over there either. “But in the beginning didn’t you say you wanted to go with me, when I take Leo, because he’s so young?” he finally asked.

            “Yes, for long periods of time, because I’m breast feeding him. But if you were to take him for say an hour, two at the absolute most, then I would allow it, just like I allow you to watch him here while I go out for short periods of time.”

            “Alright. But now that we are courting, will you go with me to dinner at the Weasleys? Without Ginny?”

            “I think that could be arranged,” Draco answered a bit stiffly. He wasn’t sure how some of the other Weasleys would react to him and was certain there must be a few in the large group who would take Ginny’s side.

            A large smile broke out on Harry’s face as he jumped up to hug Draco. Draco was still sitting in the armchair, so Harry squeezed himself onto the arm of the chair to take Draco into his arms. “Can I kiss you now?”

            “Not until after the first date. You are aware that I cannot let you into my pants until we are exclusive, right? That means that your ring is on my finger and I’ve told Dane he is completely out of the picture.”

            “Will that take long?” Harry asked, disappointed.

            “It entirely depends on you and how long you take to convince me that you are serious about this relationship.”

            “What about you? Are you serious about this relationship?”

            “If I were not, I wouldn’t have broken things off with Dane,” Draco answered simply. That was the truth and honestly, if it hadn’t been for Harry pushing him away, he never would’ve looked at Dane in the first place. He was still in love with Harry—he’d been for ages—but he was not quite ready to admit the depths of his feelings. He needed to know that he wasn’t just the next Ginny Weasley for Harry before he put himself out there like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It sure took them long enough to get to this point, don’t you think? Was this conversation everything you’ve been waiting for, or did I leave something out?  
> Up next will definitely be the trip to Austria and I think Lucius might have a demand or two for Harry, in order to allow Harry to court Draco. Any ideas what he might demand?  
> Please Review! 
> 
> Also, I have started posting a story I wrote a while back for the Harry Draco Cliché Fest. It’s called The Reluctant Veela.


	32. Chapter 32

            “Do I look alright?” Harry asked as he struggled with his tie the following Saturday morning. They were getting ready to portkey to Austria to meet Draco’s parents and he was anxious due to the inevitable awkwardness that would ensue.

            “You look fine. Now come on and grab your things or we might miss our portkey!” Draco said, rechecking the straps holding Leo into the double pram. It had taken a bit of safety testing with Teddy, but Harry had eventually convinced Draco that the contraption was safe. Draco was nervous as fuck about using it though, but he did have to admit that carrying all of their things and the baby through the portkey to Austria had been a major pain the last time. Mostly, he wanted to give Harry’s contraption a try to show that he was trying to believe in Harry. Harry said it was safe, so that ought to be enough.

            Leo slapped a toy grindylow strapped to the pram, activating a spell that produced music and lights. He laughed at that and clapped his hands. He was absolutely fine riding in the pram, but Draco still took him out of it every few minutes to check.

            “Relax; I’ve already got everything packed and the portkey doesn’t leave for forty-two minutes,” Harry replied, picking his knapsack up from the floor and adding it to the basket in the rear of the pram. It was a double seater, but Teddy’s seat had been taken off, because the other baby wasn’t going with them today. Thus in back of Leo’s seat was nothing but a large open basket already filled with the snitch covered nappy bag and Draco’s knapsack.

            “Then let’s go,” Draco said, pushing the pram towards the fireplace and Harry followed.

            The three of them flooed to the Ministry and walked to the international portkey office, where they had to wait around for half an hour before traveling to Austria. Most of that time was spend with Leo in Draco or Harry’s arms, but when it was time to go, he was put back in the pram. They came out in the Austrian Ministry with Leo screaming his head off, apparently disliking portkey travel much more firmly when he wasn’t being held through it. Draco tried to stop right there on their landing spot to retrieve his baby, but the Austrian officials pushed everyone quickly along to a series of fireplaces only feet away.

            The baby was still fussing when they flooed to the Malfoy Cottage. It was a relatively small, for the Malfoys, Tudor style cottage with a steeply sloping thatched roof. Narcissa and Lucius were in the drawing room, standing in front of the fireplace to meet them. Harry busied himself with freeing Leo from the straps of the pram, because he was faster at it, while Draco hugged his parents and explained that this contraption, unlike all other prams, was not a deathtrap. Leo calmed down almost immediately and it was a much happier baby Draco slipped out of Harry’s arms. And then Harry was forced to face Draco’s parents.

            Holding out a hand in offer of a shake, Lucius waited expectantly for Harry to take it. Harry complied and was then pulled into a warm, yet awkward, hug by Narcissa.

            “Harry, we were so glad to hear about your victory. We were rooting for you,” Narcissa said somewhat late. It had been months since the final battle and almost everyone who was going to congratulate him already had. But then this was their first formal meeting, they hadn’t had much of a chance to talk before, and she wanted her husband to be there when she said it, so that she could say it for both of them; she knew Lucius would never say it himself.

            “You were?” Harry asked surprised.

            “Yes, we were. As Little Leo’s other father, we were on your side. That is why Lucius and I let Draco release you from our house and give you valuable information,” Narcissa answered.

            “You and Lucius knew?” Harry asked another.

            “Harry, my parents and I are a family. We make our decisions together,” Draco said. His father had been the most reluctant of the three, but given the Dark Lord’s actions in the last year or so of the war, even Lucius had no choice but to switch sides. The release wouldn’t have had to been a secret in the middle of the night affair if there weren’t other Death Eaters on the grounds that day.

            “Draco, why don’t you show Auror Potter here to the guestroom and put your things away?” Lucius suggested.

            “Come on Harry, I’ll give you the tour. It was never intended as a main house, but as a summer house,” Draco explained. He was bouncing Leo on his shoulder for something to do, because being around his father again made him uncomfortable. The last visit with Lucius had been mostly pleasant, except the part where the wizard complained about Draco overriding him on all of the personal aspects of the marriage contract with Dane. Draco could only imagine what his father would have to say about switching Dane for Harry.

            “Here, let me take him dear,” Narcissa said, slipping Leo off of Draco’s shoulder and onto her own. “He’s getting so big. I wish I could see him every day.”

            Draco, now with two free arms, grabbed his knapsack and the nappy bag, while Harry grabbed the remaining knapsack. Then Draco interlocked elbows with Harry and lead him through the old cottage. Throughout the house, the raw wooden beams were exposed not only in the arches of the doorways, but also as part of the pattern in the walls, with the intervening space filled in with white stucco.

            “Back on the other side of the fireplace, is the kitchen, which is the elves’ domain. There is only the one chimney in this place, so things are rather cramped. But there is a small informal dining room through that door on the left and a potions lab through the door on the right. This one under the stairs was a closet, but was transformed into an indoor loo. It’s much smaller than any of the bathrooms at the Manor, but it is an improvement over the original outhouse,” Draco said as they made their way across the drawing room, passed the green front door towards the stairs.

            They walked up an old crackling staircase to the second floor, where there was one long hallway with a number of doors coming off of it. “Overlooking the front door is Leo’s room. My room is on the right, my parents are at the end of the hall, and the only real washroom in the house is that door on the left,” Draco said as he led Harry to his room.

            It was a wide, shallow room with an exterior wall that slanted so steeply that they could only stand upright in the half closest to the hallway. There was a large dormer window draped with thick black dragon curtains set into the middle of the slanted wall, so that the ceiling was higher in the middle of the room. The wooden beams were visible in the ceiling, which was decorated with a poster Draco had tacked up. It was a Quidditch poster showing a fit bloke naked from the waste up, his robes tied around his waist.

            Draco deposited his knapsack on his queen size bed. In the rear right corner, pushed up against the right and slanted walls, the bed took up most of the room. It was large enough for two, but from its position in the room, it was obviously only used for one. It was impossible to access from its right side and with the slanted ceiling overhead, it wouldn’t be possible for someone to even sit up on that side. In the middle of the bed, the ceiling was high enough to sit. Only on the left side of the bed, adjacent to the narrow walkway, was it possible to stand and access the bed comfortably.

            Tacked up with sticking charms to the right wall with the bed were pictures of Leo as a newborn with the other Malfoys and of Draco with his friends, along with portraits of a baby Hebridean Black dragon as it grew through the years. The left wall was taken up by a fireplace on the side closest to the hallway, and nearing the exterior wall, were custom stepped shelves. The shelves were built into the room to maximize the space between the floor and the slanted ceiling and were predominantly filled with books. In the space along the slanted ceiling between the bed and the wall with the fireplace was Draco’s school trunk, black cushions added on top to turn it into a bench. Pushed against the bed there was a small writing desk, pressed up so closely to the bench that it was obvious that the bench was used as a seat for the desk.

            The walkway between the bed and the wall facing the hallway was narrow; barely the width of the one nightstand. Along the hallway wall, to the right of the door were two pieces of furniture. In the corner was a wide wardrobe, the leftmost door permanently pinned shut by the nightstand. Next to the door was a chest of drawers with a large mirror. On top of the chest and in front of the mirror were a masculine jewelry box and a number of magical trinkets, including a small wooden box.

            Harry found himself staring at the poster on the ceiling, wondering what it would be like to lie on that bed with it overhead and wank. If he didn’t know Draco was gay before, he would by looking at that poster. He certainly hadn’t pictured Draco spending his summer holidays in a small cottage like this; it was so much more human than the cold Manor.

            “If Adrian there is the only thing in my personal bedroom that draws your eye, then you are gayer than you look. Come on, I’ll show you Leo’s room,” Draco said, pulling Harry out of the room.

            Leo’s room was light and airy, full of windows, with a flowerbox hanging out above the front door. What wall space there was, was covered in large whimsical paintings of unicorns and griffins. It was obviously missing the furniture and Harry realized that Draco had taken the furniture from this room to fill the nursery in Grimmauld Place. Now, instead of putting it all back, Draco pulled the playpen out of the nappy bag and pushed it against one wall.

            “He’ll sleep in this tonight,” Draco explained, adding the never before used changing table accessory piece to the playpen; he had a real changing table in the nursery set left at Grimmauld Place. Then he cast a weak, but long lasting warming charm on it, because it was where Leo would sleep tonight. “Without a fireplace, it’s the coldest room in the house. It was a good job we didn’t live here last winter when he was a newborn, because this room is simply too cold to use from November to April.” That was one of the factors that delayed their move to the safe house and kept them at the Manor long enough to free Harry on that fateful Easter. As it was the weather had been so chilly their first few weeks in the house that Leo’s playpen had been set up in Draco cramped room.

            Draco pulled out the infant swing and placed it on the other side of the room. There was a built-in set of shelves along one wall, where Draco placed nappies, wipes, clothes, blankets, and everything else Leo would need for the night and next day.

            “Where do I sleep?” Harry asked, knowing that he wouldn’t be allowed to share with Draco. Draco hadn’t even yet agreed to be his boyfriend, insisting that Lucius and Narcissa had to meet him and give their permission first. But perhaps he might be able to share with Leo.

            “In the excuse for a guest bedroom. Come on, I’ll show you,” Draco said, leading Harry out into the hall.

            There was a pull-down attic staircase that blocked the hallway when lowered. They walked up it into a dim low roofed attic room, Draco lighting the way with a Lumos. There were small triangular shaped windows on each side of the room, two of the walls so steeply slanted that only in the middle of the room could they stand up straight. A full sized bed was in the middle of the room in addition to a small walkway and the retracting staircase. The sides of the room were lined with short furniture; a chest of drawers without an attached mirror, a long three shelf bookcase, and a closet bar that was barely high enough to hang a dress shirt on.

            This room was plain and generic compared to the other rooms. “It’s not much, but it’s better than sleeping in the stable with the horses and it is warm. At least Dane thought so and he’s much taller than you, so it’s worse for him,” Draco said, rather embarrassed that this was all his family had to offer a guest. Before he had Leo, the front room had been used for the occasional summer guest. But even then, the accommodations here were nothing compared to the Manor, which was partly why he hated it here.

            “I’ve had worse,” Harry replied with a shrug and tossed his knapsack onto the bed. Truthfully, this place had far more charm than he thought the Malfoys were capable of. It was no ramshackle Burrow filled with love, but it did have a cozy feel to it.

            “That’s right; you lived in a cupboard.” Draco didn’t mean this as an insult as he would’ve back in their Hogwarts days; it just slipped out as he recalled what Harry had told him of life with the Dursleys. He didn’t like the way it came out and thought about taking the statement back. But Harry didn’t look offended, so he held his tongue. “Come on; my parents are waiting,” he said, climbing back down the stairs and Harry followed. “And remember; your intentions are to marry me or they won’t let you court me.”

            They had gone over this before, so Harry nodded. Draco had prepared him during the last few days regarding what to expect from this weekend, starting with tea. He was still mildly freaking out about it, despite the preparation, because this was Lucius Malfoy he was asking for permission to date the Malfoy heir. He had a bit of experience with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley while dating Ginny, who unlike the Malfoys, were not as strict and not known to use deadly force. But he wanted Draco, so he sucked up his fear, took a large breath in as he came to the end of the main staircase, took his place at Draco’s side, and came face to face with…a house elf. That was rather anti-climactic.

            “Mistress Narcissa and Masters Lucius and Leo are waiting outside in the garden for Master Draco and the Great Harry Potter,” a wizened gnarly old elf said in a gravelly voice, bowing so low his long nose touched the floor. “Poggy is bringing tea out to the garden, sir.”

            Once again on level ground, Draco took Harry’s elbow and they walked together out into the garden. The smell of summer flowers and hay filled the air, wafting over them on the summer breeze. It was a warm partly cloudy day at the end of August, with the clouds moving swiftly overhead, so that it was alternatively sunny and shaded in equal measures.

            In the middle of the garden was a small round table with four chairs, one of which was occupied by Narcissa Malfoy. Leo was holding onto Lucius’ fingers and happily walking around in his little sneakers. Leo couldn’t walk yet, but had recently started pulling himself up and could take a great number of steps, as long as he had support. He seemed to be having a grand time, if the giant smile on his face and the drool falling down his chin were anything to go by. Lucius had an amused smile on his face as he followed the lunges his grandson made.

            “Narcissa,” Harry said, walking up to the table and pulling a chair out for Draco, who was standing back in order to let Harry make a good impression with his parents.

            Draco sat as Narcissa nodded back curtly, and Harry took the chair between them. Harry held out his hand to Draco, who took it and intertwined their fingers in Draco’s lap. Lucius took the remaining seat between Draco and Narcissa, Leo on his lap.

            The moment all of them were seated, a tray filled with tea, teacups, little plates, cream, sugar, butter, jam, and scones appeared on the table. Leo laughed in delight and reached out for a scone, which Lucius let him take. When Leo went to shove the entire thing into his mouth, Lucius pulled it back out and started breaking off small pieces, one of which he placed into Leo’s mouth. Narcissa passed out the tea, keeping the hot kettle on the other side of the table from the baby. They all helped themselves to scones and fixings.

            Setting down the pitcher of cream, having finished fixing her tea, Narcissa sat with her back straight and said, “Now boys, there are some things Lucius and I would like to talk to you about. First of all, we would like to know your intentions towards our son, Harry.”

            “Marriage!” Harry blurted out excitedly. Then he cleared his throat and nervously wiped his sweaty palms on his napkin and tried to affect a more dignified manner. “That is, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, I would like to court your son, er, Draco, with the intention of marrying him.”

            “You may call me Cissy, Harry,” Narcissa replied, sounding every bit as kind as Mrs. Weasley, but only in a snootier way.

            “And you may call me Lord Malfoy,” Lucius added, sounding open, despite his obvious conceitedness.

            “We will have to talk about it, of course. Draco is our only child and we have to make sure that you will make him happy,” Narcissa said.

            Harry was expecting that. That was what Draco said would be the best possible response, with outright refusal as the worst. Thus he nodded.

            “I would like to speak with you, Harry, in private after dinner to discuss the terms of the courting. For today, the intention can simply be to get to know one another better,” Lucius said.

            “A courting agreement is not a guarantee that we will accept your bid for our son’s hand, but whether we accept or not will depend on how the courtship goes,” Narcissa added.

            “We have certain rules that we must insist are followed strictly,” Lucius continued in a stern manner. “First of all, there is to be no sex. As you know, Draco is a virgin, so we must insist that any and all suitors respect his virtue. Secondly, there is to be no fooling around at this stage. We are aware that he has already born you a child, Auror Potter, but that does not mean his innocence can be cast away in a bout of teenaged hormones. He has little experience with dating and we expect him to be treated accordingly. We will not have you taking advantage of him or forcing your will on him.”

            “Yes, Lord Malfoy,” Harry agreed. This was all stuff he’d heard from Draco; specifically that Lucius would try to exaggerate Draco’s purity. The prior knowledge allowed him to keep an even mood and not feel resentful of the pompous pretentious old git, mostly because he now understood that Lucius and Narcissa had Draco’s best interest at heart.

            “Now, Auror Potter, there are certain matters we must discuss in private,” Lucius continued.

            Leo, having dropped his scone on the ground, leaving only a large pile of crumbs behind on his grandfather’s robes, started fussing to be put down. The baby wanted to crawl and possibly retrieve the spoilt food, but the adults didn’t want him crawling in the dirt, so he was passed around first to Narcissa and then to Draco.

            “Come on, let us take Leo for a walk while your father talks with Harry,” Narcissa said.

            Draco complied and the three Malfoys went off, Leo gripping Draco’s fingers as he walked along, babbling happily. They disappeared as they turned to go in back of the house, leaving Harry alone with Lucius.

            With no preamble, Lucius moved straight to the heart of the matter. “I am aware of your wish to become involved with my son. Since you have no parents of your own, I assume you have never had a proper talk.”

            Lucius paused there, leaving Harry confused. “A talk, sir?”

            “Of wands and cauldrons,” Lucius clarified.

            Having heard that phrase before, Harry knew what the other wizard was referring to, even though he didn’t particularly wish to have such a conversation with Draco’s dad. “Oh that. Arthur Weasley had that talk with me right before the war broke out.”

            “That was in regards to you dating his daughter, am I correct?”

            “Yes, sir.”

            “I do not mean to criticize Arthur Weasley, but I have a feeling that there are certain things he left out. Things work slightly differently with two wizards than with a wizard and a witch. You need to know these things if you plan on courting my son.”

            “Er, he only told me about girls. I didn’t know I liked blokes at the time.”

            “Well first off you should be aware that Draco is extremely fertile. Severus Snape had a look at the remains of the potion Draco brewed in order to become pregnant. He said the potion was of such poor quality and done with such a lack of desire for it to turn out right that he doubted if there was a single viable sperm in the cauldron. Yet Draco was impregnated on the first try with only one vial. The two of you need to exercise precaution if your aim is not a pregnancy.”

            “But I thought you didn’t want us having premarital sex,” Harry replied, slightly confused.

            “I do not. This advice is intended for later, after the wedding night, in fact. I say after, because my son is quite large in a certain area and I do not believe it is possible to simply shove the proverbial wand into the cauldron as they say. That is something that must be worked at. Of course it would not be appropriate for my son to assist you with such preparation _before_ the wedding night. Unless you work on it by yourself beforehand, then consummating your vows on the actual wedding night would be quite impossible.”

            “Then we could just do it the other way around,” Harry suggested.

            A look of horror overtook Lucius’ face, because he never wanted to think of his Draco in that way. “Certainly _not_! No, while I realize that when Draco marries he will be engaging in certain activities, there are still plenty of activities that are undignified and you should _never_ ask of him. It is amoral and disgusting.”

            Harry was puzzled for a moment, wondering if this was how Draco felt too. He was halfway to thinking that maybe he could be the designated bottom, when he remembered some of the things Draco had said before on the subject. Of course then Draco had been speaking to Dane in private, unaware of Harry’s eavesdropping, but the message had been clear: Lucius’ ideas on sex were not Draco’s. Draco was more open to experimentation and hadn’t seemed to know exactly what he wanted, due to his own inexperience.

            This revelation left Harry with a conundrum: back what he thought were Draco’s wishes and tell Lucius to fuck off, which could jeopardize his chances of attaining Lucius’ permission for the courtship, or go along with Lucius for now in hopes of seeking his favor. He certainly had no plans on denying Draco something in the bedroom on the grounds that Lucius had forbade it, but would it be alright to let a father think one thing about his son and then do the opposite in reality? That question brought back another overheard statement, in which Draco had basically told Dane to let Lucius think what Lucius wanted to think, just as long as it didn’t interfere with their reality.

            In that instant a memory of lying to his horrible Aunt Marge came back to Harry, in which he’d let the fat cow believe that his pretend school beat him with a cane. Dealing with Lucius Malfoy was a bit like putting up with Aunt Marge; Harry only hoped that he didn’t accidentally blow Lucius up too.

            A minute passed while Harry thought all of that. When finished thinking, he nodded curtly and lied, “Of course not. I do not know what I was thinking. I should never ask something so disgusting of him.”

            “Good. Also, since you are impure, I will require that you submit the results of a full panel of medical tests for sexually transmitted diseases. While you are at it, I would like to see your full medical records and the results of a recent physical. That is all required prior to approving the courtship; there are the additional compatibility tests required during the process of formulating a marriage contract, but those can wait until later.” Lucius said the words marriage contract with disgust, clearly unhappy with the prospect of having Harry for a son-in-law.

            “Why do you need to know all of that? I’ll get you the STD test, but you don’t need to see my medical records.”

            “Yes I do. In fact, I should have seen all of that before Leo was conceived. I want to make sure my grandson comes from healthy stalk and if he does not, his healer needs to be advised what to watch for,” Lucius drawled.

            Harry had the distinct impression that if some condition was discovered, Lucius would not tolerate another child being produced from unhealthy stalk, as it was put. Lucius would most likely refuse the match and insist Draco marry someone else. Harry’s heartbeat quickened at the implied threat and he silently hoped that there were no genetic abnormalities hidden inside him. He’d never really considered it before, mostly because he cared little about his own health, but the thought of having passed something to Leo or to a future child did unnerve him. He silently reassured himself that there was nothing wrong with him. This was just Lucius looking for an excuse to refuse him as a suitor for Draco.

            “If you are healthy and given the all clear, then there is nothing to worry about,” Lucius continued. “But if you are harboring genetic conditions, then we will need to take that into consideration. Narcissa and I worry about the health of our grandchildren, you see. There are certain ways to prevent detrimental conditions from being passed on, if they are known about in advance. That much is too late for Leo, but early diagnosis and treatment can do wonders for ameliorating problems.”

            “Fine, alright; I’ll get you the physical,” Harry conceded.

            “Good. Now we need to talk about the mechanics of homosexual sex. While I have never engaged in such myself, I have known that I have a gay son for years and took it upon myself to look certain things up. If you feel the need, I could arrange for an actual homosexual to come talk to you about this. Let me summarize it by saying that anal sex requires lubrication and preparation. If you were to attempt it without these two things, you will be hurt. And like I said before, given his size, you will require plenty of preparation.”

            This sex talk from Lucius was turning into one of the most embarrassing talks of Harry’s life. He was blushing so hard his ears turned red in imitation of Ron. He busied himself with his tea, trying to avoid eye contact at all cost, but then his tea went down the wrong pipe and he started coughing the liquid back up.

            Lucius patted Harry firmly on the back and asked, “Alright there?”

            “Yeah,” Harry answered.

            “Good. Now I will not go into the rest, because I fear my knowledge is limited on this subject. But I am willing to arrange a talk with someone more knowledgeable than myself and for now, I have this book for you.” Here Lucius pulled a paperbacked book from the front pocket of his robes and handed it over. The book was new and crisp, the pages never before turned. He hadn’t expected to need another book, but had gone out specifically for it just yesterday. “Draco and Dane received similar books last week.”

            “Er, thanks,” Harry said, looking at the cover. There was a moving silhouette of two men snogging along with the simple title, “The Gay Wizarding Sex Book.”

            “Is there anything you would like to ask me about?” Lucius did his best to make his tone sound open and inviting, despite his loathing of the idea of his son even considering Harry Potter for a suitor. Long years of hatred did not fall away easily for him and he blamed this wizard for how horribly the war had turned out for him and his family. In reality it was his own fault for backing the wrong wizard, but the Dark Lord had shared his ideals and the other side had not. Because he could not face up to his own mistakes, he blamed Potter.

            “Um no? I think I’m good. It was a bit of an information overload, to be honest, sir.”

            “Alright. I will leave you to enjoy the sunshine and flowers. My wife should return with my son and grandson soon,” Lucius said standing up from his chair. He held out his hand to shake and Harry took it. “It was good talking to you, son.” The endearment was forced, but he had to try. He still didn’t like Potter, but he wanted Potter to like him.

            The term of endearment struck Harry as very off, coming from Lucius, who would not even call him Harry. But he let it slide, because he was asking permission to one day be this wizard’s son-in-law. “You too sir,” he choked out.

            Then Lucius went back inside the house and Harry was left in the garden. It wasn’t long before the other three Malfoys returned. Narcissa was walking with Leo, neither of whom looked fazed.

            “I will just leave the two of you out here and go inside to talk to your father, Draco,” Narcissa said, handing Leo over to Harry.

            Draco nodded and sat next to Harry. “What did my father have to say?” Draco asked Harry, who was fighting Leo to keep the baby off of the ground.

            “He gave me the sex talk,” Harry replied, nudging his book on the table with an elbow to draw attention to it, while keeping both hands on his wiggly baby. Leo went after his glasses again, so he had to the pull the chubby little hands away from his eyes. For some reason Leo had recently taken to his glasses.

            Draco nodded. “Mother had the talk with me last week. She insisted on telling me about things she read in a book, such as anal tearing.”

            “Sounds awful.” Harry shuddered, grateful that Lucius hadn’t gone into that sort of detail with him.

            “It was, but I survived. Afterwards Dane and I took our books and actually _did_ one of the things in them,” Draco admitted blushing.

            “You had sex with Dane last week?” Harry whispered it, covering Leo’s ears so their son wouldn’t hear. Leo fussed at that and pushed Harry’s hands away.

            “No, we used our hands…”

            The way Draco trailed off, made Harry think there was more. “And? What else?” Had he broken Draco and Dane up right when they were starting to become intimate?

            “He kissed me. Down there.” Draco looked at his crotch to imply just where Dane had kissed him. It wasn’t that he wanted to make Harry jealous, but he wanted to be honest and for Harry to know exactly what he’d done with Dane. Later, during the courtship, they would divulge their entire sexual histories.

            “You say that like you haven’t done it before?”

            “Not much and that was ages ago. I wasn’t expecting Dane to move quite so quickly. Normally I like to reciprocate, but I wasn’t prepared. We waited ‘til the engagement to actually _do_ anything, so I was assuming we were still on hands. Then he upped it and I was rather overwhelmed. Plus we were here, with my parents far too close for that sort of thing. He said not to worry about it and that I could do him later, but then your interview came out and later never came. I feel sort of like a cad now.”

            “I’ve never kissed one before,” Harry blurted out nervously. He knew the proper terms, but decided to stick to the more innocuous wording Draco was doing, figuring that Draco didn’t want Leo to hear dirty words. “I mean, I’ve had mine kissed, but I’ve never had a chance to do it to someone else.”

            “Then we can be novices together, because I was not very good at it when I did try it. Just thinking about it reminds me of the gagging. And then there is more of Dane to potentially gag on than with my first boyfriend, which is very intimidating.”

            “I bet. I feel intimidated when thinking about doing that to you,” Harry admitted awkwardly. It was an odd conversation to have with someone he was not quite yet dating, but he was glad that they could talk like this. They were being honest with each other and that was a good start.

            “We can go slowly.”

            “Alright, but not too slowly, I hope,” Harry said with a smirk.

            “Slower than slow until we work a few things out, I’m afraid. I don’t feel comfortable doing something like that when I have two men courting me. I feel like I’m cheating.” Draco shuddered.

            “Then dump him,” Harry challenged.

            “I most likely will. Soon.”

            “What’s stopping you?”

            “I already told you; I cannot be sure. I want to be certain of my choice before I make it official. This is all of our futures wrapped up here. A lot is riding on this decision. It is all happening rather fast,” Draco said.

            “So it’s not all my fault then, like you said the other day?”

            “No, it is mostly your fault. If you had asked _me_ out instead of asking Weasley to marry you, then there would be no reason for this confusion. I’m pretty sure how I feel and how Dane feels, but you I find difficult to understand and impossible to predict. I’m not asking for forever here, just a few dates to see how things go. We are so volatile together, you know? We always have been. When we hated each other, it was with such passion and now our love seems equally passionate, but I worry how long it can last. I don’t want Leo caught in the middle of a messy break up, so I need to be sure.”

            “I understand. We can take our time; there is no reason to rush into anything. Dating first and then we can worry about the rest, right?” Harry asked and Draco agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a lot of stuff I wanted to cover, but I didn’t get to it, because I wanted to start this meeting of the Malfoys with something lite. There is still a dinner and an after dinner discussion of courting. A few readers were kind enough to point out some of the issues these two still needs to address, so there still needs to be at least another serious discussion after that. And of course there needs to be some dates. But now that Harry and Draco are together, I see this story wrapping up. Maybe half a dozen more chapters at the most.
> 
> What do you think of Malfoy weekend so far? Please review!


	33. Chapter 33

            Dinner that night was in the grandly decorated, but normal sized dining room of the cottage. Three sides of the room contained large windows and low furniture, letting in a beautiful view of the garden and surrounding property. The intricately carved and inlaid round table was almost at capacity with only the five of them. There wasn’t room for a larger table, because the room was full, lined with matching antique furniture; multiple Welsh Dressers on one wall, a giant sideboard on the opposite wall, a short, but broad wine rack on a side wall, and a washstand next to a much smaller, but matching sideboard on the wall with the door. It all had an expensive flare to it, the wood carved and inlaid in the same pattern as the table, the glass as clear as if a house elf had just cleaned it, and the Wunsiedel marble polished to a shine. The only thing that didn’t scream Malfoy about the room was the lack of snakes and green in the decor; instead it was all various shades of wood, glass, and white marble in the pattern of various flowers. Even the crystal displayed on the Welsh Dressers had floral patterns.

            Since this was his first dinner with Draco’s parents, Harry was determined to show proper manners. He tried to pull Draco’s chair out for the wizard to sit, like gentlemen should, but a house elf beat him to it. Then the elf pulled out another chair and motioned for him to sit, leaving him to awkwardly comply.

            A pair of house elves acted the role of waiter and waitress. The elves even removed the tray from Leo’s highchair, so that the baby could more easily be placed inside. Once Leo was in, the elf snapped the tray back in place and spread a handful of cheerios on the tray, making the child squeal in delight. Harry and Draco never just put food on the baby’s tray and let him have at it like that. Not that there was much point in letting Leo feed himself, since at not quite seven months old, he hadn’t yet mastered the pincer grip. Instead he banged his hand down on top of the little bits of food and occasionally they stuck to the palm of his hand. When that happened, there was an opened-mouthed exercise in transferring the cheerios from the palm to the mouth, little pink tongue occasionally peeking out to try to fetch one inside. Needless to say, more of it ended up on the floor, immediately vanished by elves, than in his mouth. But the task kept him occupied while the adults ate and when he did succeed, he munched happily and clapped his hands, cheering himself. The adults cheered too, praising each success.

            Nervous already in the presence of Lucius and Narcissa, Harry took in the grandeur of the room and hoped the house elves would be able to contain whatever mess Leo made while they ate. Worse, he would feel absolutely mortified if it was he who made a mess. Thus he shakily picked up his salad fork and carefully began to eat. He was familiar enough with proper table manners, especially after all of those post-war Ministry Galas, that he was confident he knew which fork went with the salad.

            The moment Harry sat his fork down, finished with the first course, an elf vanished it and the plate. _What would Hermione think of this treatment?_ he thought to himself, looking up at the ceiling as he did so. It was only then that he realized that there was a giant garden landscape painted on the ceiling, ornately framed in the same type of wood as the table. That made him look down and examine the parquet floor, wondering if that too was something special. Sure enough, there was a giant and very intricate flower inlaid into the floor under the table, with a number of smaller, but matching flowers regularly spaced around the rest of the floor. _Great. Now I have to be careful not to mess up the ceiling_ and _the floor. Can’t the Malfoys ever do anything simple or plain?_

            The soup course was served next. Being late August, one of the hottest months of the year, it was a refreshing chilled pumpkin soup. Harry looked over to Leo, making sure his son wasn’t choking on a cheerio or something, which was slightly unnecessary now that the child had two teeth. But still, cheerios were a new food for the baby and Harry didn’t want anything to ruin this dinner. Leo, of course, was fine, down to only about a dozen cheerios left scattered around the tray. The baby was reaching out with his little fingers and pushing one around the tray. Seeing that Leo was fine, Harry picked up his soup spoon and dipped it into his bowl.

            Just then both elves, Lucius, and Narcissa gasped in surprised, all four pairs of eyes fixed on Draco.

            “Draco, darling, are you feeling alright?” Narcissa asked.

            Harry looked too and noticed that Draco was using the spoon meant for pudding to eat his soup. He knew Draco, having been raised in an upper-class home, had to know which spoon to use. Maybe someone like Ron might make a mistake like this, but even Ron normally used a soup spoon for soup if one was presented. Thus Draco’s faux pas made no sense at all and Harry found himself staring too.

            “Yes, Mother, I’m fine,” Draco replied, pointedly raising the wrong spoon to his mouth with a bit of the orange soup. He daintily inserted it into his mouth, before returning the spoon to the bowl.

            One of the elves snapped her fingers and a new dessert spoon appeared on the table, replacing the one Draco had taken for the soup.

            “Then why dear, may I ask, are you eating that way?” Narcissa asked another.

            “I could see that Harry is sitting over there nervously worrying about each and every bite, so I thought I would take the tension out of the situation by committing the first faux pas. In the grand scheme of things, it does not matter which spoon I use to eat my soup, does it?” To prove his point, Draco took another couple of dainty bites with the wrong spoon.

            “Draco, everything matters, even table manners,” Lucius said sternly.

            Narcissa shot her husband a warning look, before saying, “No, Draco is right. We have more spoons. The important thing is to make Harry feel welcome in our home.” To emphasize her point, she removed her soup spoon to the plate under the bowl, before picking up her own dessert spoon and dipping it into her soup.

            The elf once again snapped her fingers and another dessert spoon appeared, replacing the one Narcissa was now using.

            Lucius tried to remain calm, but did not manage to keep all of the aggravation out of his tone. “Surely lunacy will not make Auror Potter feel at home. Why look, he is using his soup spoon to eat his own soup.”

            Harry looked down at the finely polished silver spoon in his hand. It too had flowers intricately carved into the handle. It looked expensive and he began to wonder just how many the Malfoys owned. Surely this set was specific for this summer house, because the flowers would not match the more austere décor of Malfoy Manor. This dining room was small too, so he guessed it could only hold six, seven people at most. There may be enough extra spoons for Draco and Narcissa to have spares, but if he and Lucius joined in, would they be a spoon short?

            “I beg to differ, Father,” Draco said and continued to eat his soup.

            “Harry, feel free to eat whichever way will make you feel most comfortable,” Narcissa added.

            “Thank you mam,” Harry replied with a smile. He did feel more comfortable now and he didn’t even need to switch spoons to do so. He took another bite of his own soup with his soup spoon.

            Lucius kept his mouth shut then, focusing on eating his soup, looking at his grandson in order to avoid seeing his wife and son massacre soup with dessert spoons.

            “Harry, how do you find fatherhood treating you?” Narcissa asked, aiming at a bit of relaxed dinner conversation.

            “Excellent. Leo’s brilliant,” Harry replied cheerfully, much more at ease.

            “I receive the same impression from my beloved grandson and I know my husband feels the same,” Narcissa replied, doing the talking for her husband.

            The rest of the dinner passed easily then, Harry’s nerves forgotten, thanks to Draco. Narcissa led most of the conversation, but the things she asked him were easy enough to answer. She wanted to know about the Weasleys, enquiring about what each of them did, and how Auror training was going. She asked if he had plans for All Hallows Eve or the feast held the following day. Halloween was the anniversary of his parents’ murders, so he was interested in doing something to honor their memory and told her so. That worked perfectly, because All Hallows Eve was all about honoring the dead. The Potters and any of Harry’s other dead loved-ones could easily be incorporated into the traditional celebration, which Narcissa and Draco proceeded to tell Harry about.

            After the last course though, the mood changed. Lucius spoke, his first significant words since the discussion about the proper spoon to use for soup, “Auror Potter, this is when I must request your presence in private so that we may discuss your potential courtship with my son.”

            “Okay,” Harry agreed, having already been prepared for this by Draco. The conversation to come was the most important one of the visit. He absolutely needed Lucius to grant him permission to court Draco, no alternatives available. Luckily Draco and Narcissa were on his side and he had been assured of an intervention if Lucius appeared to be coming down on the wrong side.

            “I regret I do not have a study for this occasion. This cottage is small and I usually find myself working out in the garden or if the weather is bad, up in Leo’s room. The night is clear and pleasant. Would you be amenable to having this conversation out in the garden?” Lucius inquired.

            Harry nodded and was lead through the house and out the backdoor, to the garden, where he and Lucius took seats at the garden table. It was still warm out, although the sun was setting. Torches were lit now, keeping the area visible as the natural light faded. The earlier smell of the fragrant flowers was still prominent in the air. The crickets could be heard chirping and the frogs croaking. The setting was pleasant and a bit at odds with Harry’s impression of Lucius Malfoy.

            Draco had been spoon feeding Leo a bland puree the elves had made from that night’s goose, barely, and vegetables, minus the seasonings and sauces the adults had been served. But the moment Harry and Lucius were through the door, he held out the bowl and spoon to his mother, saying, “Here. Will you feed him?”

            Narcissa took Leo’s dinner, but warned, “You do know this conversation has to be between Harry and your father, not you and your father, do you not? You cannot have it for him.”

            “I know. I just want to make sure Father does not pull any of his tricks.” When Narcissa nodded her approval, Draco jumped up out of his chair, leaned down to press a quick kiss to Leo’s forehead, before saying, “Thanks. Be good for Grandmother, Leo.”

            Then Draco ran up to his room to retrieve Harry’s invisibility cloak from his knapsack. Knowing his father the way he did, he’d prepared days ago for this conversation by asking Harry if he could borrow the cloak. If Lucius was on his best behavior and did not try to pull anything with Harry, then Draco would hold back and let the two wizards work the matter out on their own. But if Lucius stayed true to character, there would be some form of manipulation on his part, which was where Draco planned on intervening.

            With the invisibility cloak and half a dozen other precautionary spells to prevent his detection, Draco made his way out into the garden.

            “Now, Auror Potter, tell me what I can expect from your department upon my return,” Lucius demanded of Harry as Draco settled in to listen behind the largest of the garden’s statues.

            Lucius had already given a short speech about the necessity of tonight’s discussion being to ensure that the families of the potential couple were compatible, before jumping into this superficially unrelated matter. Harry took a deep breath before answering, sure that what Lucius would gain from this courtship would influence the wizard’s decision far more than it ought to. “Well the first step is that you will be required to come in for questioning. That can’t be avoided. You were Voldemort’s second in command and we need to know what you know.”

            “After the questioning, will I be free to go?” Lucius asked.

            “That depends on how the questioning goes. If you cooperate with the investigation and answer our questions, then I am sure you will be released pending trial,” Harry answered. He could not be expected to guarantee the outcome of Lucius’ trial, could he?

            “So there definitely will be a trial then?”

            “Unless Minister Shacklebolt and the prosecutor’s office decide to drop all charges.” Harry shrugged.

            “Dane Ndiaye was able to assure me that his office and his uncle would both agree to drop the charges, upon Draco’s marriage to Dane.” Lucius’ voice was cold, his displeasure at the dissolution of his plans by Harry’s interest in his son clear.

            “Sorry, but I don’t work in the prosecutor’s office and I’m not related to Kingsley. I can’t guarantee what they will do.”

            “But you are the Savior of the Wizarding World, Vanquisher of the Dark Lord; your voice matters in the Ministry. I must say I was rather disappointed by your statement in the Prophet the other day. We have it delivered from the United Kingdom, so that we can keep in touch with what is going on back home, so I know that instead of backing me fully, you went on the record stating that I deserve some form of punishment. For someone who hopes to gain my favor with regards to my son and heir, it seems to me that that was a poor way to go about it.”

            “Well you are guilty of a lot of things,” Harry hedged carefully, unsure how to get out of this one.

            “One of those things being not forcing an abortive potion down my son’s throat the moment I was pardoned by the previous Minister. Another of those crimes being keeping the Dark Lord I vowed to serve for eternity from using my grandson as bate in a trap meant to lure you to your death. Also there is the matter of the criminal act of protecting my family from said Lord. Worst of all, I violated the number one law of the time that stated that Undesirable Number One, when found, should be handed over directly to the Dark Lord. Instead I permitted my son to let this most undesirable wizard go _and_ pass along valuable information, which is an act of treason. All of those, besides the first, were crimes punishable with the Killing Curse under the ruling regime at the time.”

            “Well that all goes in your favor, when it comes to deciding your punishment. I said as much in that interview. I said you shouldn’t be harshly punished.”

            “I should not be punished _at all_!” Lucius bellowed.

            Taken aback by the outburst, Harry recoiled and blinked rapidly. He very nearly cast a shield charm, but Lucius did not have his wand out.

            “There are several issues which must be settled between us before I can grant you permission to court my son,” Lucius continued in a calm even voice that was in total opposition to the previous outburst.

            “Yes?” Harry asked with apprehension. He had his wand in hand, pressed what he hoped was inconspicuously against his thigh, ready to defend himself. He didn’t want to have to use it, because that would be a very bad sign when it came to gaining Lucius’ permission, but he would if he had to.

            “In addition to the charges against me, there are certain things that I am looking for in a spouse for my son. Perhaps it would be better to focus on those issues and come back to the charges later.” Lucius seemed almost cordial now, one side of his mouth quirking upward in what might have been meant as a reassuring smile, but came out as a smirk.

            “Alright,” Harry said, happy for the change in topic. Maybe they could just forget the disagreement about criminal charges completely.

            “First of all, you should be aware of the fact that my son is next in line to inherit the title of Lord Malfoy and one of his children will be chosen to succeed him in this title. As such, there are certain expectations of his future spouse. Ordinarily, a witch would be chosen who is willing and able to carry out all of the duties and requirements of a Lady Malfoy, as is the case with my dear Narcissa. Given my son’s proclivities, certain adjustments must be made for a wizard to fill the role instead of a witch. However, said wizard is still required to fill said role and all that entails.”

            Harry nodded.

            “Do you, Auror Potter, know precisely what will be required of you?” When Harry shook his head, Lucius continued, “No? Well, let me tell you. As we discussed earlier, you will be the bottom to my son’s top. You will fulfill the role of a wife, despite the fact that Draco insists on being the one courted. You will bear the children and stay home with the babies, while my son works on his political career and rebuilding the Malfoy name to its former glory. You will take the Malfoy name and all of the children the two of you produce will be Malfoys. You will, to the best of your abilities, support him from inside the home, occasionally making pre-approved statements to the press.”

            This did not sound at all like the life Draco wanted, nor was it the one Harry wanted. In fact, several aspects did not jive with how Draco was currently living, as the stay-at-home parent for Leo. “What about Leo?” Harry asked.

            “Leo is the exception to the rule. He already is the Potter heir and I will let him remain so, although if additional children are not produced or do not survive to adulthood, he may also be required to fulfill the role of the Malfoy heir. Given your role in the recent war, it was impossible for you to carry him and so that job fell to my son. Draco has become used to his role as the primary caregiver for the child, but after your marriage, you will be required to quit your job and take your proper place in the home.”

            “Isn’t all of this stuff supposed to be worked out in the marriage contract?” Harry asked, unwilling to agree to this and certain that Draco wouldn’t want him to.

            “Some issues may be decided during the initial courting arrangement. Dane Ndiaye, for example, signed an agreement before he was first allowed to take Draco out on a date.”

            “Dane is a prosecutor. Surely he didn’t agree to quit his job upon marrying Draco,” Harry protested.

            “No, he did not. But his continued employment as a prosecutor was ruled to be essential to the promises he did make in the courting contract. If you would like, I could permit you to sign the same exact contract that Ndiaye signed. I have an unsigned copy of it here.” At this point Lucius nodded to a house elf that was standing by in attendance. The elf snapped his fingers and a pile of parchment scrolls, quill, and ink pot materialized onto the garden table. “All we need do is switch out his name for yours.”

            Inking the quill and locating the appropriate scroll, Lucius unfurled it and passed it over to Harry. “Sign now and we can consider this matter settled. You may begin courting my son immediately.”

            Harry blinked in surprise, not expecting the sudden turn the conversation had taken. They had agreed to nothing, but here Lucius was presenting him with a contract. His mind raced as he tried to take in what the contract said. It started with the typical stuff though, about no coitus before the wedding night and the like. He absentmindedly lowered the quill to the paper, not intending to sign yet, but rather to use the side of his hand to hold the parchment down flatter. It had a tendency to curl, making it even more difficult to read in the flickering torch light.

            “Harry, wait!” Draco called running forward, having thrown off the invisibility cloak and canceled the various anti-detection spells. “Don’t sign that!” The moment he reached the garden table, he snatched up the parchment out from under Harry’s hands and tore it in two.

            “Huh?” Harry asked in surprise.

            “Draco, you really mustn’t interfere at this point. You have last say in the marriage contract. Certainly you can wait until then,” Lucius chastised.

            “No, I cannot, because you are trying to make Harry sign a promise to free you! Just because Dane agreed to that does not mean Harry has to. And if you have added any of your Erumpent dung trying to force my hand into a marriage contract I do not want, so help me, I _will_ tell Mother.”

            Judging by the paler that then graced Lucius’ face, telling Narcissa was the ultimate threat.

            Draco looked then at the bottom piece of the parchment, occasionally aligning it to the first half to make out a torn word. “You did! I cannot believe you! I do not even _want_ a political career!”

            “What is going on out here?” Narcissa asked sternly, rushing out of the house and into the garden.

            “Harry was about to sign this, Mother,” Draco said, passing over the remains of the contract when his mother reached him.

            “I was not! I was still reading it! I don’t know what it says,” Harry protested.

            A minute passed in silence as Narcissa read. Then her stern expression turned angry and she looked up at her husband. “Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, in the house. Now.” The words were spoken in a manner Molly Weasley might use for a Howler. The facial expression as well matched one Harry had seen Molly use on her sons.

            “My apologies,” Lucius said to Harry and Draco as he rose from the table. He nodded to his wife and then headed off in the direction of the house. Narcissa followed.

            “What did it say?” Harry asked warily, dreading what he might’ve agreed to if he’d signed without reading first.

            “First of all, this is most definitely _not_ a copy of what Dane signed. It says, oh, just about everything he told you he expected from you that he has no right to determine. You will free him, quit your job, take my last name, pop out appropriately blond Malfoy heirs. Can you believe it? He _actually_ wants us to use a potion that will only allow blond embryos to survive. He had the _audacity_ to put that in the marriage contract I had with Dane, which was one of the points he and Dane could not come to an agreement on. I crossed it out in the final version and now he wants to make you agree in the courting contract, going behind my back to force me into it! Sometimes I _cannot believe_ that wizard,” Draco ranted.

            “Oh,” Harry replied. As a matter of fact, he could not believe that all of that was written in such a short scroll, hidden under the seemingly innocuous more typical bit.

            “And you were going to sign it! How many times did I warn you not to sign _anything_ my father gives you without making triply sure it isn’t a trap?”

            “I wasn’t going to, I swear. I was still reading it. I was going to read it a couple of times and then if it looked alright, say I needed to check it over with you first. I wouldn’t sign without your approval.” Harry knew better than to assume that just because he couldn’t spot the trap, a trap wouldn’t be there.

            “I’m not supposed to be involved in this little negotiation,” Draco said huffily, crossing his arms over his chess. He found that fact absolutely unfair. “You wouldn’t even be involved if your parents were still alive.”

            “Yeah, that sucks, I know. But, ah, where’s Leo?” Harry asked, eyeing the house with concern. Narcissa hadn’t had the baby when she came out and he doubted she and Lucius were watching Leo now, judging by the muffled sounds of her angry voice carrying out the open windows. He couldn’t make out the words and there was the unmistakable buzzing of a Muffliato, but he could still decipher the fact that her tone was angry.

            “Doppy?” Draco asked, turning to the elf. “Where is our son and what is he doing?”

            “Mistress Narcissa put Master Leo down in the cot for a nap. Master Leo is sleeping, sirs.”

            “I hope she put up a silencing spell…” Harry commented.

            “Doppy will be checking,” the elf said, before disappearing.

            Draco had just enough time to steal a glance at Harry and reach out his hand, seeking comfort after the way this night was going, before Doppy was back.

            “There be a silencing charm in place sirs. Can Doppy be doing anything else for Master Draco or Master Harry?”

            “No,” Draco answered.

            “Thank you Doppy,” Harry told the elf, which started a horrible crying and weeping fit with Doppy throwing his body to the ground in joy, drowning out the sound of Narcissa’s voice.

            “You just _had_ to thank him, didn’t you?” Draco asked, rolling his eyes.

            “Yeah. Why is it that all your elves have such stupid names? I mean Dobby was bad enough, but Dipsy and now Doppy?”

            “Their grandfather Dopey named them all. We Malfoys have not named an elf since Dopey’s mother asked the then Lord Malfoy, my Great grandfather, to name her son. Blame Dopey if you like; the elves are buried at the Manor though,” Draco answered, implying that Dopey was now dead.

            Harry had a look of horror on his face, just imagining what Hermione would say if she knew the Malfoys had once named an elf Dopey. Even if he had on occasion thought Grumpy might be a suitable nickname for Kreacher, he would never actually name an elf something like that.

            “Look, my ancestors have done loads of awful things. You are not seriously considering blaming me for them, are you?”

            Harry shook his head, putting his thoughts in order. “No, I guess not. But promise me that if you ever name an elf, you will pick something more dignified.”

            “Sure thing. I just assume let them name themselves,” Draco replied with a shrug.

            Harry leaned in for a hug and potentially a kiss, but it was at that moment that Lucius and Narcissa reappeared, so Harry pulled back slightly. Lucius was pressing a bag of frozen peas to his lip and had his head bowed in submission. Narcissa wasn’t actually dragging her husband by the ear or anything, but it was clear she had whipped him into line, possibly with violence.

            Draco wrapped his arm around Harry’s back, presenting a unified front to his father.

            Preparing to speak, Lucius removed the peas from his lip. Doing so revealed a swollen and split lower lip, giving the impression that he had been struck in the face. “Draco, Auror Potter, I must apologize for my unscrupulous behavior. I have another contract that I trust will be much more appropriate,” he said, extending out another scroll in the hand not holding the peas.

            Reaching out to take the scroll, Draco eyed his father suspiciously. He then unfurled the parchment and held it so that both he and Harry could read. This one was just a typical bland courting agreement with no extra nonsense added in.

            “Erm, I don’t see anything wrong with this one,” Harry said, finished reading.

            “Except that it says that we cannot live together until marriage, when I am already living in your home,” Draco countered. “Father, surely that wording can be changed given the circumstances?”

            It was not Lucius who answered, but rather Narcissa. “No Draco, I think that line is _even more appropriate_ given the circumstances,” she said it with an air that implied they should be grateful she had forced Lucius into such a reasonable contract. “Your current living arrangement cannot continue once you enter into this courtship. I suggest that you and Leo move back here into the cottage until such time as you marry or the Manor is returned to us.”

            “Mother! The cottage is too far away; I will never see him,” Draco protested.

            “Draco, you may not live with someone you are courting. We agreed to let you stay before when you were just friends, for Leo’s sake. We felt it was important that he be given this chance to get to know his PaPa.” Narcissa said the word papa with a staccato, the way of the old upper class English; the same way Draco says it. “They have spent the last three months getting to know each other and will have more time together if and when you marry. But for now, he may visit Leo here as often as he likes. He may come every weekend if he wishes and spend the night in our guestroom.”

            “Yes Mother,” Draco drawled, as if bored, seeing no way out of this.

            “Auror Potter, when can we expect the Manor be returned to us?” Lucius asked pointedly.

            “Actually it shouldn’t be long now. I don’t know exactly when, but they are wrapping up the investigation. There are still some dark objects of Voldemort’s that need to be properly disposed of and the protection spells dispelled, but once that is done, we’ll vacate the premises. I expect it to be within the next month,” Harry admitted, deliberately looking at Lucius and not Draco, because he had kept this information from Draco. He’d wanted to keep Draco living with him as long as possible, so he’d put off telling Draco about the Manor.

            “Excellent. Then you can anticipate a month of visiting on weekends via portkey before we move back to Britain,” Lucius concluded.

            “But all our things are there, not here. I will have to go back to get them,” Draco said.

            “What about Andromeda?” Harry asked. “She’s your sister, Mrs. Malfoy, isn’t she? She and Draco have been getting to know her and her grandson Teddy. She has extra room. I could ask if Draco and Leo could stay with her.”

            “Do you think she would let me?” Draco asked Harry. Harry nodded, waiting for a reply from the Malfoy parents.

            “What do you think Cissy? Is your sister a responsible chaperon?” Lucius asked his wife.

            “I think so. I will have to speak with her about the matter, but it is possible that something could be arranged,” Narcissa conceded. “But, Draco and Leo will still have to stay here until we work it out.”

            Draco sighed, but nodded his acquiescence and Harry followed soon after with a nod of his own.

            “It would only be for a month until we are allowed back into the Manor,” Lucius concluded. “It will be good having you and Leo around again.” With that said, he returned his frozen peas to his lip.

            “My sentiments exactly,” Narcissa added. “Draco, you and your young man may stay out here and discuss what has happened privately. Your father and I, however, expect both of you back inside before your son wakes from his nap. That is, if this contract is acceptable and signed.”

            Draco consented, Harry and Lucius signed, and the Malfoy parents went back inside the house.

            “Do you really have to stay here? Isn’t there some way of getting out of it?” Harry asked, turning to look at Draco straight on.

            “If my Aunt comes through and lets us stay, we might be back by Monday. For now I think it’s best to go along with it,” Draco replied.

            “And your father’s busted lip? Did your mum just do that?” There was incredulity in Harry’s tone, because he couldn’t picture the polite and seemingly well-mannered Narcissa hitting her husband. If there was domestic violence in this home, he had expected it to come from Lucius.

            “Yes. I told you she does that sometimes.” Draco shrugged, as if this was nothing out of the usual.

            “Right…” Harry replied. He knew the home Draco had grown up in was fucked up, but he was beginning to realize that his initial impressions were slightly off. The Malfoy family was still fucked up, but in a slightly different way. “Is he going to get it healed?”

            “And risk the public finding out about what happened? Absolutely not. Before the war, his private healer would floo over and take care of it in secret. But now my father will surely stick to a bit of healing salve and let it heal on its own.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more day with the Malfoys before Harry leaves. Did any of you foresee that Draco wouldn’t be allowed to return with Harry?  
> This story is starting to wrap up now that Harry and Draco are finally together. What would you rather see, Harry taking Draco and Leo to a Weasley family dinner, or a romantic date? Or both?
> 
> Please Review!


	34. Chapter 34

            They’d spent the next morning resting out on the lawn chairs, enjoying the fragrance of the late summer blooms. Lucius and Narcissa had joined them, giving Harry a chance to get to know his future in-laws a bit better. Narcissa did most of the talking, telling stories about when Draco was young, while Lucius sat back quietly. The active infant was passed back and forth between the four of them as they talked. Occasionally Leo made a break for it and one of them would have to get up and pull the baby out of the flower bed or pry rocks or leaves out of the little hands. Overall it had been nice and far more pleasant than Harry had expected from the Malfoys.

            Then they had lunch inside, which was a pleasant break from the sun. Afterwards found Harry once more enjoying the sunshine in the garden with Leo, while Draco went off on a walk to talk to Narcissa. Britain was rarely as sunny as it was here in Austria in the summer, especially this summer, which had been gloomier than most, so it was a welcome change. Leo was happy to be outside, babbling and crawling all over the place. Harry enjoyed having some time to relax and play with just him and his son, not having to worry about being perfect for the Malfoys.

            Draco and his mother were gone for over an hour and a half when Leo started fussing and Harry began to worry Draco wouldn’t be back in time for Leo’s usual feeding. But just when Leo really started to wail, Draco came running, obviously hearing despite the distance and foliage between them. Draco scooped the baby up, took a seat, and immediately adjusted his clothing so that Leo could nurse.

            Leo smiled around Draco’s swollen nipple as he latched on. Harry smiled too, pleased with the fact that Draco hadn’t thought twice this time about letting him watch. It still fascinated Harry that Draco was producing milk for their son, sustaining the young life in a miraculous way. On the other hand, Draco looked rather pale and sullen, as if having been attacked by a dementor. Narcissa walked passed casually into the house, not looking the least bit fazed as she ignored the little family bonding out in the gardens.

            Leo leaned in, settling into one of his preferred nursing positions. Draco held their son in place and warily collapsed back into the garden chair, upon which he’d charmed the cushions thicker before sitting down. This was not the most comfortable place to nurse, by far.

            “What happened?” Harry asked.

            “Ugh.” Draco pressed his free hand to his face, partially hiding behind it. He wasn’t quite ready to answer that question.

            “Why do you look like you’ve seen a dementor?” Harry asked.

            This time Draco looked down and completely buried his face between his hand and Leo’s tousled hair. “She wanted to know about that conversation we had the other day.”

            “Which one?”

            “The one when I chewed you out for being a drunk. Sorry.” Draco’s words were muffled, spoken down into hand and black baby hair.

            “What do you have to be sorry about?”

            “Argh. Mother pointed out that I was an insensitive prick. She made me feel about two inches tall.”

            “You weren’t an insensitive prick! I’m glad you shared your feelings with me,” Harry protested. He’d begun to actually like Narcissa, especially after she’d intervened on their behalf the night before with Lucius. But she was making Draco move out of Grimmauld Place and if she was now also making Draco feel like shite for no reason, then maybe Harry would rethink his assessment of her.

            Since they had both just used a naughty word in front of their son, Draco cast a silencing charm to prevent any other unpleasant words from reaching the baby. Then he replied, “Yes, but you didn’t bother sharing your feelings with me. Urgh! Or, I didn’t allow you to share with me. I’m doing it again! Sorry, I’m not used to thinking about someone else first. Mother pointed that out. I think about myself, Leo, Mother, and even Father, but other than that, I am a horribly spoiled selfish brat. How can you stand me?” Draco looked up then, studying Harry’s face for the answer.

            “Er, because I love you? And you’re not that bad, really,” Harry insisted. “What right does your mum have to make you feel so badly?”

            “Every right. She’s my mother and wants what’s best for me. If I go around in life not even bothering to ask the one I supposedly love how you are feeling or why you do the things you do, then how can I expect a marriage to last? It’s a wonder I have two wizards who want to put up with me at all.”

            “You love me?” Harry asked, grasping onto what he felt were the most important words in that weird statement of self-loathing. Self-loathing was so unlike the confident Draco he knew, that it was difficult to process.

            “Yes, but that’s not the point! The point is that I made the conversation all about me and how I feel and I still have no idea how you feel.”

            “I love you too.”

            Draco sighed exasperated and looked down at the baby in his arms. It was like they were having two completely different conversations. At least Leo seemed to be passed the biting phase, because the baby was nursing peacefully. Draco then looked back up at Harry and asked, “Are you purposefully avoiding the issue here?”

            “No, I just don’t seem to understand what the issue is. You love me. I love you. I’m sorry for going out and getting drunk. You didn’t go out and get drunk, so you have nothing to be sorry for…”

            “Harry.”

            “Yes?”

            “Shut up. Just shut up,” Draco’s eyelids tightened as he spoke, emphasizing his frustration, “and _listen_ for a minute, will you? Please?”

            Harry was taken aback, not knowing where he’d gone wrong, but quickly agreed. “Alright.”

            “Do you remember when I first sat you down for a family meeting?” Draco asked and Harry nodded. “Do you remember how I told you how they go? I tell you what is bothering me and how I feel. Then _you_ tell me what is bothering _you_ and how _you_ feel? We did the first half, but you _still_ have not told me how you feel. You never let me get inside your head. I don’t understand you. You don’t volunteer the information and when I pry it out, you give the shortest possible answers. Sometimes I think you have answered me, but then I lay awake at night wondering if you actually answered me at all, because I find I still do not understand.”

            “Understand what?”

            “You.”

            “What about me?” Harry asked, thinking that he was an open book.

            “Why don’t you talk to me about your feelings? Why do I always have to ask and even then you give the shortest possible answer?”

            “Er, I’m not used to talking about it? It’s not something I ever had to do before.”

            “Because your horrible muggle family didn’t love you?” Draco asked, concerned as he looked Harry in the eye.

            Harry could see the distress in Draco’s face and he didn’t like it. “I don’t really know if they loved me or not; they never really said. I know they didn’t like me and I was a burden, but that doesn’t matter. Plenty of other people loved me. My parents loved me, my godfather loved me, Remus, Hagrid, Dumbledore, my friends, the Weasleys, and I think even Snape, in his own way, loved me. I don’t want you to worry about me not feeling loved. I assure you, that although I had a completely messed up childhood, I was loved. You don’t need to feel bad for me.”

            This statement did not make Draco feel any better. “Look at me, I’m really awful, aren’t I? I am making this all about me again when we are supposed to be talking about you,” his voice was distressed, although he didn’t know how to turn off his own emotions enough to be able to focus on Harry’s. Sure he had the Slytherin mask for strangers, but that was cold, uncaring, and the opposite of what he wanted to be for Harry.

            “No, you’re wonderful, really. You are practically the only one who has ever bothered to ask how I feel. I’m sorry if I’m slow on the uptake, but this is new for me. Just try to direct me a little more; you know, help me out a bit?”

            “Alright, I’ll try. So you were loved?” Draco asked, trying to pull himself together and get this conversation back on track.

            “Yes, I was very much.”

            “But none of those people ever wanted to talk about your feelings?”

            “No, not really. Hermione mostly, but she sort of knew most of the time. Maybe once a year or so an adult would ask me, but Ron and I have never needed to talk about that sort of thing.”

            “Alright, I can’t quite imagine it, but we will have to work with that, I guess.”

            Harry nodded and asked, “So what do you need me to do exactly? Just blurt out how I feel about everything?”

            “Everything important, yes. The problem is that I cannot figure out where you are coming from. Sometimes I think the same is true with you not understanding me. Maybe our backgrounds are just so different that we can’t figure each other out, so we have to communicate more. I have been trying to anticipate the things you wouldn’t know, because you have not grown up in wizarding society. Admittedly, I still miss quite a bit, like I had no idea you were not aware of Lughnasadh and Celtic traditions, but I do try. I need you to do the same for me. Let me into your brain and show me how your mind works. That is the only way two people can become one. That is the only way a marriage can work long term.”

            “Alright, I’ll try. What do you need to know right now?”

            “Well, first off, why did you feel the need to drink? My only experience with someone drinking is with my father. He always drank a glass of wine with dinner or maybe something harder in the evenings. But I never really saw him drunk until after he was released from Azkaban, especially after the ancestral Malfoy wand was taken from him and destroyed by the Dark Lord. That wand had been in the family since we came to England, so losing it was a hard blow. On top of that, he had just spent a year in Azkaban with the dementors and come home to find his son a failed Death Eater pregnant by you. It looked like our side was winning, but by then it was clear the Dark Lord had lost his mind, so even a victory would be a defeat. My father felt helpless and turned to his liquor cabinet to cope. I assumed you were drinking to cope with the same feelings and that it was me and Leo who made you miserable. You never drank much in school.”

            “I thought I told you this? Ginny was driving me to drink. She and her friends drink all of the time and after the war, I joined them. Once you turned up, there was tension between me and her and we drank more, but that was more because she wasn’t handling the situation well. It wasn’t because you and Leo made me miserable; you don’t, you know. From pretty much the beginning I thought Leo was wonderful. It was like I finally got a reward for all of that torture I went through during the war and as a child and it was you who gave him to me. The war was truly awful for me. I know it was bad for you, but let’s just say that it was equally bad for me, if not more so. In fact, the war had me feeling a lot like it made your father feel. After the war was no better, because so many people were dead. Everyone was praising me and calling me the hero but all I could think about were the people I hadn’t saved. So when Ginny and her friends wanted to drink, I drank too to forget the nightmare of it all. Then I just got used to using alcohol to cope. I honestly didn’t know you were choosing me over Dane and that was stressful, so I drank.”

            “So I need to do a better job of explaining to you what is happening.”

            “Yeah.”

            “That shouldn’t be a problem in the future, because if it you are my husband or fiancé, then it will be you I talk to first. But could you please come talk to me before you turn to alcohol?” Draco asked hopefully.

            “Yes, of course. I already told you that I’m quitting. I haven’t had a drink since that night and I don’t plan to have another.”

            “Good.”

            “Is that all? Are we good now?”

            “No. Mother also pointed out that I never really asked you about your wards. I know you said something about getting in the habit from the war, but I don’t understand why you would continue to cast the wards against a baby, without thinking about it.”

            “Well it’s sort of hard to explain,” Harry began. “I didn’t really think about it, honestly, I didn’t. I’m still not even sure why it’s such a big deal. Leo isn’t old enough to come to my room, so I just didn’t consider the possibility of him needing to get in.”

            “Would you have thought about it in a few years, if I hadn’t said anything?” Draco interjected.

            “Probably not until he actually came up and tried to get in. I’m not used to having to think about taking care of children. You have to understand that you sort of sprung parenthood on me and I didn’t have the preparation you did. I don’t mean to blame you, because I would’ve had parenthood sprung on me either way, because of Teddy. But Teddy doesn’t live with me and Dromeda never really pushed me to take responsibility the way I should, so it probably would’ve been years before I attempted to watch him overnight.”

            “But I still don’t understand why your room needs to be warded at all, when your house in under the Fidelius.”

            “A lot of people know the secret. In fact, because the original secret keeper is dead, everyone who knew the secret before is now a secret keeper themselves. That is how Kingsley was able to let Dane’s family in, without me and how Dromeda let your friend What’s-Her-Name in without me knowing. There are just so many people who know and no telling who they could tell.”

            “It sounds like the house is not safe for me or Leo either.”

            “Perhaps not. Maybe it is time to tell the secret and cast a new Fidelous on the house.”

            “Would that make you sleep more easily?”

            “Probably not,” Harry admitted. “The other wards on the place have already been reinforced and I really do trust everyone who knows the secret. It’s mostly just a relic from the war. When we were staying in the forest we had to cast a whole slew of wards every night to make sure we were safe before we could go to bed. And even then, we took shifts, so that one person was always up keeping watch. It was a dangerous time. It’s hard getting used to life without the constant danger. I recast the wards to let you and Leo pass anywhere in the house, so isn’t that enough?”

            “So you do trust me? You are not worried about me breaking into your room at night and hexing you?”

            “Of course not. You would never do that.”

            Draco nodded, seeming to accept Harry’s answer. “Do you blame me for your breakup with Weasley. I know before you said you broke up with her for me.”

            “But then I realized that you were right: I broke up with her for me. She was a mistake. Maybe if things had been different, if you weren’t in the picture and we waited a few years until she grows up, then maybe we might’ve stood a shot together. But as it was, we’d grown apart. Even if you and Leo weren’t in the picture, she still didn’t like Teddy and eventually I would not have been able to cut him out of my life. She doesn’t want children of her own either and having Leo around helped her realize that. I would never be happy without kids, so really it was better that things ended sooner rather than years into a bad marriage. I meant what I said in that article: you are not to blame for my breakup with Ginny. That relationship simply did not work and all you did was hasten things along.”

            Draco nodded, appeased. “Is there anything else you wanted to talk about? Any other feelings you’ve been having?”

            “Well there is something…” Harry was unsure how to begin with this. “Wait, first off, how much are we going to have to, you know, talk about our feelings? Is this, like er, just because we are getting to know each other better, or do you expect this all of the time. As in, ah, forever?” He was hoping the answer to that last one was no. He didn’t mind talking to Draco about things, especially about Leo, but talking about his feelings was so much harder.

            “Yes, forever. Maybe less often once we understand each other, but if a feeling comes up, then you need to be able to tell me.”

            “So I could just tell you I love you and then maybe once a year, add on that I’ve felt really good about our relationship that year, type of thing?”

            “No. More like at least once a week you should be communicating with me.”

            Harry huffed, not liking that answer, but he decided to give it one more shot. “Once a week, for now, or once a week forever?”

            “Forever.”

            “Right…I feel that that sounds rather daunting…” Harry hedged cheekily.

            Draco chuckled. “Well that is a start at least. Is that all you are feeling?”

            “Um, no, there is another thing I want to say,” Harry hedged.

            “Go ahead, I’m listening.” Draco tried his best to sound encouraging.

            “Well it’s just that I know I had really bad timing with, er, you know, getting my shite together. I should’ve realized that I was in love with you and acted on it before you got engaged to Dane and I’m sorry I didn’t. I didn’t mean to ruin your relationship with him. And I wish I could go back and tell myself not to get engaged to Ginny either. It’s just that I didn’t know I was going to fall in love with you and then once I was, I was so worried I was going to ruin everything by acting on it. You were already dating Dane and we were getting along and I liked how well we worked together when it came to Leo. I just didn’t want to say anything before I was sure and ruin our budding friendship or something.”

            Draco started off devoting all of his attention to Harry, but while Harry spoke, Leo detached himself from the now dry nipple and began fussing to be moved to the other. Draco shifted Leo over and helped the baby latch on, while doing his best to continue listening to Harry.

            “While I wish you hadn’t proposed to Weasley and taken so long to come around, I am just so glad you did speak up when you did. If you had let my marriage to Dane go through when you love me, then I would be pissed. But you spoke up in time, so it’s mostly okay,” Draco said and reassuringly reach out a hand to pat Harry’s hand.

            Harry took Draco’s hand in his and intertwined their fingers. “But I know how confused I made everything by not knowing that I wanted you. It’s like you said, I was sending you mixed signals, hitting on you when I was still with Ginny and that wasn’t right. You said you have trouble trusting that I will be true to you, because of that and I want you to know that I’m sorry for putting you in that situation. It won’t happen again.”

            Draco sighed and asked, “Harry, do you know why I was so upset about you coming on to me the last few times?”

            “Because you were with Dane?”

            “Even before I was serious about him, it bothered me and it wasn’t because I didn’t find you attractive, because I did. The first time it was okay, because I was drunk and I was not really thinking about it. Then afterwards, I did start thinking about it. I thought about the fact that you were in a committed relationship with Weasley and that wasn’t fair to her and most of all not to me. Later there was Dane and that complicated the situation further. But before that and even more than me and Weasley, I thought about this little guy here.” Draco squeezed Leo a bit with the arm he was using to hold the baby. “Yes, it would be wonderful for him if his parents were together, but not like that. I wanted to legitimize our relationship for him, not drag it through the gutter. The last thing our son needs with his questionable conception is a headline in the Prophet about how you were cheating on your fiancé with me. And yes, you were confusing me with your mixed signals, but you have sorted everything out now and we can move forward.”

            “We’re okay then? You’re not upset that I broke up you and Dane?”

            “Like I said before, I wish you would’ve told me earlier, before I went through with the engagement. I know I made the decision to do so, but you drove me to do it and you didn’t say anything to stop me. That put me in the awkward position of wanting you, but having to accept that I would spend the rest of my life with Dane. And once we were officially engaged, I couldn’t hold back any longer. He wanted certain things from me sexually and with his ring on my finger, I felt pressured to comply. But when I was doing so, it was so hard to concentrate on being with him, when I wanted you,” Draco admitted.

            “You wanted me?” For how long?” Harry asked intrigued.

            “I guess the idea popped into my head back when I was pregnant with Leo. What pregnant wizard doesn’t dream of his child’s father showing up and rescuing him from an unpleasant life?”

            Harry smiled, feeling a bit cockier now that he knew Draco had wanted him first. But there was one more thing he wanted to make crystal clear, so he tried to suppress the smile and seriously concentrate. “Just so you know that I feel really really bad about all of it; waiting so long to speak up and breaking you and Dane up. You did want to know how I feel and that is it.”

            Draco sighed. “Harry, is this where I’m supposed to say I forgive you? Because I’m really bad at knowing when that is and I know it. It’s my father’s fault, I think; he was always telling me never to forgive or forget, but to get even and seek revenge. So, um, I forgive you, but if you are looking for forgiveness again, could you just come straight out and ask for it? I really am not trying to hurt your feelings by not offering it faster; it is just one of the many things I’m working on.”

            It was Harry’s turn to chuckle this time. He wrapped an arm around Draco, careful not to disturb Leo’s suckling, and said, “Sure, I will tell you when you need to forgive me, if you will tell me when I need to tell you how I feel.”

            “Deal.

            “Is there anything else you would like to discuss? I know you have, at times, been overwhelmed coming here with me, but I’m grateful for it, I really am. So um, surely there must be something more you would like to say about the visit. My father, he hasn’t said or done anything, other than last night, has he?” Draco asked, rambling a bit, but doing his best to show concern for Harry’s feelings.

            “Well there is one thing he said…” Harry ventured hesitantly.

            “Yes?” Draco made eye contact with Harry, trying to read Harry’s face, but unsuccessful.

            “But I don’t want to talk about it with Leo right there. Er, I know you put up the silencing bubble, but it’s still weird.”

            “Alright, we can wait until he’s done,” Draco agreed.

            They canceled the silencing bubble and made light conversation around Leo. They discussed how poorly Leo had slept in the front room, since the baby had been up four times in the night. Their son tended to be up one time, maybe two, each night, so four was extreme. Harry thought it was just that Leo was used to the nursery in Grimmauld Place now, while Draco speculated that it might be the travel cot, since they hadn’t bothered to bring the crib. Leo hadn’t slept well last weekend either when they’d come with Dane.

            When Leo finished eating, Draco handed the baby over to Harry and tucked his shirt back into place. Harry put their son on his shoulder to burp and patted the little back as he made his way back to the cottage. He found Narcissa playing a song on the piano and Lucius lounging with a book in a chair next to her. Lucius put his book down immediately and reached out for his grandson. Harry would’ve rather passed the baby to Narcissa, but he also trusted Narcissa to keep Lucius in line and at this point he really didn’t think the wizard would hurt Leo. After all, Leo was Lucius’ grandson and neither Draco nor Narcissa would ever forgive Lucius if something happened to the baby.

            Thus Harry reluctantly passed Leo over to the other wizard, saying, “He still needs to burp. He only let out one little one.”

            “I have some experience with burping babies, Auror Potter. I assure you I can handle it,” Lucius replied, Leo already on his shoulder and being patted firmly.

            Harry nodded and headed towards the door, but did a double take, making sure Leo was okay, before leaving the cottage for the garden.

            Once Harry returned to his seat in the garden, he fidgeted with his hands, unsure how to start the conversation they needed to finish.

            Draco started it for Harry, by asking, “So you were saying? What did my father say to you?”

            “Er… Well he mentioned that you are much larger than me. You know, down there.” Here Harry looked down at his crotch. From what he’d seen of Draco’s crotch, he was certain Lucius’ statement was true in that regard. “You are, aren’t you?”

            “Yes, I believe so. You don’t have to be concerned about it though. Truthfully, I’m happier at the prospect of having a more reasonably sized one to worry about wrangling with, as opposed to the situation with Dane. I hear two big ones don’t go well together in the bedroom. So hopefully the difference will make things go easier between us.”

            “Wrangling with?” Harry asked, wondering precisely what Draco was getting at. Personally, he always thought the bigger the better when it came to cock. Thus it was a sore spot that his was smaller than Draco’s and apparently smaller than Dane’s too. Not that he was all that small, because he was slightly above average himself. But compared to two apparently well-endowed wizards, he felt small.

            Draco turned his gaze, breaking eye contact and blushing fiercely. “You know, I’ll have an easier time of putting it in my mouth than you will. Dane has a big mouth and thrust me, even then, it didn’t go at all smoothly last week. That’s why he stuck to, you know, kissing it?”

            “So when you told me yesterday about kissing it, you literally meant kissing, not sucking?” Harry asked curiously, for clarification.

            Draco nodded. “He tried at first, but he doesn’t have any practice with ones my size, so he started gagging. And that got me thinking about how much of a problem I had gagging with my last boyfriend, who is closer to your size. I wasn’t at all prepared to take on that challenge without a bit of mental preparation first…”

            “Is that all?” Harry prodded, thinking that there was more to this story.

            “I sort of put off doing anything sexual with him until our engagement, because I didn’t feel right about it. I know you were with Ginny at the time, but I wanted you, so I felt weird when I was with him. Now that I’m with you, I feel a little weird kissing you, because I still have him waiting for me. I don’t like this feeling at all.”

            “That’s simple enough to solve; dump him and then we can be together,” Harry said cheekily, wary that a slap might be coming for his impertinence. Draco hadn’t made a move to hit or curse him since school, but after seeing Lucius’ swollen lip at Narcissa’s hand and how Draco had reacted as if it were nothing, he was a bit wary of Draco doing the same to him.

            “I will, soon. The moment I know that we are compatible and that we can last, I will tell him to bugger off,” Draco said, looking Harry in the eye in all seriousness.

            Harry believed Draco and was relieved that Dane didn’t seem to be nearly as big of a threat as he’d once feared. Draco was choosing him. There was only one lingering doubt nagging at him. “How will you know we are compatible? I signed a contract stating that we won’t have sex until marriage. How will we know, until then, if our bits fit together?”

            “I meant the word compatible in a non-sexual way. If we click together, enjoy each other’s company, and can get along and have fun on a few dates, then we’re compatible. As far as the sex is concerned, we won’t know until we try. That is why I insisted on a loose wording in my marriage contract with Dane when it came to sex: I am a virgin and I don’t know what I will like. Once we are married, we can try everything together and see what we like.” Draco shrugged. Then he laughed and added, “It took Dane forever to come up with the right wording that would satisfy my father and even then he didn’t like that the contract was leaving open the possibility that I might bottom on occasion. Do you want to know how I finally convinced my father?”

            “How?”

            “I simply explained that if I was _really_ horny and had already torn my husband’s arse up topping, Dane’s mouth was already tired from giving me so much oral, and I was sick of hand jobs, then I wanted to have the option of bottoming left open to me. He isn’t particularly comfortable discussing gay sex and that finally shut him up about me being the exclusive top.”

            They both laughed; Draco at the memory of Lucius’ discomfort and Harry at the image of Lucius’ discomfort he pictured in his head.

            Minutes later when their laughter settled down, Harry began to grow nervous again. “But what if I don’t like bottoming?” He asked, trying to hide the hint of fear in his voice. That was one of the things he’d never done before and he just didn’t know how it would feel.

            “Then I’ll give it a try.”

            “What if you don’t like it either? What if we get married and then we can’t ever manage to have sex together?”

            “There are other ways of making love and satisfying our sexual desires besides anal sex. We have choices. And if we still cannot manage to find a way to make it work, we can have the marriage annulled. Many arranged marriages are annulled before the first year is up, for that very reason. In fact, on the one year anniversary, the participants in the arranged marriage are supposed to fill out a form attesting to whether they have managed to achieve sexual compatibility. It takes annulment off the table if we have and then later decide we want to split up for other reasons. Or if we haven’t, it’s generally considered a good time to start the annulment process. Only rarely does a couple claim to still be undecided at the year mark.”

            “So if we take the plunge and then it doesn’t work, we can get an annulment?” Harry asked curiously. Not that he would want one, but it was nice to know it was an option, especially because Draco had already stated a desire to take divorce off of the table.

            “Yes.”

            “Good. But isn’t there some way to know whether you like to top or bottom?” Harry asked curiously. He was hoping there was something about that in the book Lucius had given him, but he hadn’t had much time with it. The few spare minutes he’d had to flip through it before bed the night before had not produced an answer.

            “There are ways, but they aren’t fool proof…” Draco felt a bit uncomfortable talking about this subject with Harry, due to the short amount of time they’d been together.

            “Yeah, what is it? How do I tell?” Harry asked eagerly.

            “First, when you fantasize about it, which one are you in the fantasy?”

            Now it was Harry’s turn to blush and feel embarrassed. “Most of the time, the bottom,” Harry admitted in a whisper.

            Draco nodded approvingly, because that answer was fine with him. “For me it changes. Sometimes I think about being the bottom and other times I’m the top in my dreams. As long as you are willing to try both and see what you actually like, then we should be good.”

            “What about the other way to tell? You said there is more than one way, didn’t you?” Harry asked nervously. He wasn’t at all sure he wanted to be a bottom, despite the way his dreams and fantasies typically went, so he sought confirmation.

            “Yes. Er, have you ever put your own fingers inside you? Or had anyone else’s fingers in you?” Draco was blushing again, but eager to know the answer to this question.

            “No…should I try that then?” The idea excited Harry and made his cock grow, but he was also hesitant to try on his own, scared he might make a mess or hurt himself. He would have to find that section of the book and read it first.

            Draco nodded. “I’ve tried it. It felt nice,” he admitted shyly.

            Harry smiled then. If Draco thought it felt nice, then maybe there was nothing to be scared about.

            “I’m surprised that’s the only thing my father tried to push you into accepting during that talk, after what he pulled last night. You know, trying to make you quit your job and stay home with the children? I do not know why he cannot get it through his head that I want to be the stay-at-home parent…” Draco paused here for a moment, before lowering his head and cupping is forehead in the palms of both hands. “I did it again, didn’t I? I never asked you if you wanted to stay home with the children. I just assumed that you didn’t, because of your job, but I never asked.”

            Harry had never actually considered quitting the Aurors and being a stay-at-home parent. Before Lucius had brought it up, he’d never thought about it and now that he had, it wasn’t something he was particularly interested in. If he absolutely had to, he would do it for his children, but he didn’t have to, because Draco was willing to do it. “Oh, no, I’d rather work. It’s fine with me if you stay home with the kids, really.”

            “Good. What about being pregnant? I guess it was selfish of me to force my desires on you the way I did the other day. It’s not that pregnancy doesn’t have its bad side, there were times when it was absolutely horrible, but for me that was offset by the miracle of bringing a life into this world. It was a magical bonding experience for me and Leo. I want to do it again, but I don’t wish to deprive you of the experience either. We could have three children, which would allow you to carry one. You would have to take a few years off of work though. I don’t want to worry about your job with you pregnant and afterwards, you would have to breastfeed.”

            That was something that had never bothered Harry. He wanted children, but he was more than happy to let Draco carry them. The idea of carrying one himself seemed incredibly foreign and unnatural. It was just weird. “Oh no, that’s okay, you can do it,” he replied.

            “Are you sure? Because if you want, we could find a way to make it work,” Draco offered, trying his best to be unselfish.

            “No, no, I’m sure. I prefer you to carry all of the babies. The only thing I would change is next time I would like to put them in you the natural way.”

            “Without a potion? I think that can be arranged.” Draco smiled seductively, liking the sound of that.

            “Good. Then, er, I think we’ve settled everything,” Harry concluded.

            They moved then to discussing living arrangements for Draco and Leo. They’d managed to floo Dromeda that morning, who had agreed to let them stay with her, but had asked for a few days to prepare some space. Thus Harry would be portkeying home alone that evening after dinner, while Draco and Leo would stay another day or so. It wasn’t ideal, but they would make it work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that is the end of their trip to Austria. Next chapter Draco will be moving in with Dromeda and I might also get around to including a first real date or Sunday dinner at the Burrow.  
> Please Review!


	35. Chapter 35

            Draco and Leo took a portkey back to Britain late on Tuesday afternoon. Harry took off from work an hour early to meet them in the international portkey office and help them get settled in at Dromeda’s place. Leo, having already become accustomed to the Austrian time zone, had already eaten dinner and was fussy with droopy eyes that indicated it was time for his evening nap.

            “I swear to Salazar himself that my father is going to drive me insane if I have to stay there in that little house with him another day!” Draco told Harry by way of a greeting.

            “Hello to you too. You at least missed PaPa, didn’t you Leo?” Harry asked, retrieving the sleepy baby from Draco’s arms. The pram came along with them, but Draco hadn’t bothered to hold on to it properly, having only used the basket to carry their things. It had therefore crashed down on its own several dozen feet away.

            “Yes, hello, I missed you. Now can we move on? Here I am on the verge of a mental breakdown and you are worried about pleasantries,” Draco replied as they began walking to the floo, grabbing the pram from where it landed along the way.

            Harry motioned Draco and the pram through the floo, before he and Leo joined Draco in Dromeda’s small house. She too was more interested in greetings than Draco’s complaints about Lucius, insisting that they get right to the sleeping arrangements. Leo was to bunk with Teddy in the nursery on the second floor, his crib from Grimmauld Place already squeezed in next to Teddy’s. Harry laid Leo down in the crib and the baby made a cooing sound, happy to finally be back in his own bed.

            Unfortunately Dromeda’s house was smaller than the Malfoy cottage, so Draco was being put up in a fold-away cot in her study down on the first floor. She’d cleared as much room for him as she could, but that still only amounted to the bare essentials. The situation was far from ideal, especially because Draco was breast feeding and would have to climb the stairs to reach Leo. He wished that he could at least share a room with his baby, but there was no room for a crib in the cramped study and no room for the foldout cot in the nursery. Thus he was stuck.

            Draco tucked his things away in the study. Meanwhile Harry and Dromeda retrieved Leo’s essentials from the nappy bag and stowed them into a spare drawer in the nursery. Then Draco and Harry went for a walk in the garden while Leo napped and he was finally able to continue his rant. “I’m sure this can’t possibly be worse than being cramped in with my father, but this situation cannot last long, Harry. I can’t be climbing those stairs every time I go to feed or tend to Leo. You need to make the Aurors give us our house back.”

            “Alright, I’m working on it. I told them yesterday that they need to clear out already. Give them some time,” Harry reassured. Anticipating that the next words out of Draco’s mouth would question why he had not told the Aurors that before, he proceeded to change the subject. “Now tell me what was so bad about staying with your father.”

            Draco let out an exaggerated sigh, before answering, “He’s a bloody nightmare. First of all, he’s never been cooped up in such a tiny house for so long; none of us have. He likes to spread out and take up all available space. If Leo or I have one little thing out in the common area, he complains. We basically had to keep all of our belongings in our rooms at all times. Plus we had to take meals together, even though Leo and I aren’t used to eating on their time table, because there is only the one dining room and small kitchen. The house elves don’t have the space to prepare multiple meals.”

            While Draco ranted, Harry made little noises of sympathy. They walked through an overgrown garden until they came upon the rear of the property. They stopped to sit on a bench with a view down the hill to the village below. There Draco continued his complaining about the small Austrian cottage, which according to him, smelled wrong, set off his allergies, and had a horrible quaint feeling to it. He also disliked his tiny shallow bedroom with the low ceiling that he claimed he hit his head on no less than ten times in the short visit.

            When Draco finally stopped his rant, Harry changed the subject again. “Did your parents say anything about our courtship?”

            “ _Yes_.” Draco’s tone was loaded, implying that he and his parents had talked ad nauseum about this topic. “Mother’s all for it; she wants to know what flowers we want for the wedding. Then there are the colors and the location… And let me tell you, ‘I don’t care,’ is _not_ an acceptable answer when talking to my mother about wedding plans. If I tell her that, then she says it means I don’t care about the wedding or the marriage and if that is the case, I shouldn’t be getting married at all.

            “Well what _did_ you tell her?”

            “That I had to talk to you about it. Is there any chance you have been planning your wedding since you were a little boy?”

            Harry laughed and shook his head. “Nope.”

            “Is there any chance you want to plan it with my mother without me?”

            Harry laughed and shook his head again.

            “Well, I’m not going through that torture alone, so do _not_ think for one moment that you can get out of this. You are going to have ideas, opinions, and feedback on my mother’s obsession with me. I will not be dealing with my mother on my own.”

            “Come now, Draco, torture? Surely you are exaggerating.” Harry chuckled again.

            “I am not. This is the first time I have regretted not marrying a witch. If I could just curve my desire for cock and marry someone like Pansy Parkinson instead, she would take over the whole bloody affair and all I would have to do is sit back and agree. At least with Dane his mother was willing to plan the thing for us.”

            “Alright, I’ll help with the wedding. Maybe Molly will help too. How about red and gold?”

            “I will agree to that if you agree to plan the entire affair without me.” That Draco was willing to go along with that color scheme testified to how much he detested the thought of wedding planning.

            “No way.”

            “How about just red or just gold? Why do we need two colors?” Draco asked.

            Harry shrugged and said, “I don’t know. What does your father say about all this wedding business? Why are we even planning the wedding now, when we haven’t started on the marriage contract?” He still found the idea of a marriage contract odd, but he was eager to get started on it all the same. Dane already had an acceptable contract and it irked him that he was behind in the grand scheme of winning Draco’s hand. The sooner he was on an even playing field with the other suitor, the better.

            “My father has yet to come to the conclusion that you are the best suitor in the running for my hand. He is still under the delusion that every gay man in the world would want me and if given a little more time, one of them will come forward and say so. Plus he really hit it off with Dane. I think Dane had him at, ‘Oh yes sir, I _can_ guarantee your freedom and that you will not be punished for any of your war crimes.’” When Draco quoted Dane, his voice deepened, while at the same time he effecting the simpering tone of an arse kisser.

            “And Leo?” If Lucius thought Draco was better off with someone else, Harry wondered what the wizard thought of their son.

            Draco sighed, a disappointed and exasperated sound. “He hasn’t mentioned it since you threatened to kill him, but I’m certain he would still prefer it if Dane were to adopt Leo. I know he loves Leo, but I also know Leo isn’t the Malfoy heir he wants.”

            “What about you?”

            “I can’t wait to see the look on his face when the next child turns out a girl. Then he will either be forced to eat his words and chose Leo for his heir or have a female heir.”

            Harry nodded pleased, a smile creeping its way onto his face at Draco’s words. “And would you name him your heir, even though I’ve already named him mine?”

            “If it were up to me, I would have, if you hadn’t. But it is not up to me and I would prefer to have an inheritance for a second child. I’m fine with the Malfoy heir being female. Her husband will be the next Lord Malfoy after me and their son after that.”

            “Our future little girl.” Harry’s tone was wistful as he pictured it. There was a pause then as a thought popped into his head. He voiced this thought seconds later. “So you think your father will allow a girl to become the Malfoy heir?”

            “Possibly, yes. If she meets his specifications or he is sufficiently convinced that he has no other options available. There are precedents and procedures in place for such an occurrence. In the past there were several times when only daughters were born to the Malfoy line; the husband of the eldest daughter was then allowed to inherit the title Lord Malfoy and the couple’s children were given the Malfoy name.”

            “That’s good to know. But if she were the Malfoy heir, then her last name would have to be Malfoy too. No Potter babies….” Harry trailed off, a slight edge of disappointment in his tone.

            “I was thinking about that…” Draco hedged.

            “Yeah?”

            “It is slightly odd to have a Potter heir with Malfoy for a last name.”

            “Would you change it then?” Harry’s tone was eager now, his face alight with hope. He would love for his son’s name to be Leo Potter.

            “Add to it, I think.”

            “As in hyphenate?”

            “No, not hyphenate. That is too plebian. I would tack on another last name and let him choose which one he wants to use: Leo Draco Malfoy Potter or Potter Malfoy, either way. Our daughter could have both names too.”

            The smile on Harry’s face blossomed into an ear to ear grin and he engulfed Draco in an enthusiastic hug and then peppered kisses on Draco’s face. Draco returned the kisses and it turned into a bit of a snog.

            When Harry pulled back, he had just one question, “So you are set on having just two children then?”

            “I am not as set as my parents are. If we ended up with one more, my life would not be ruined. But then we already have our one more, don’t we?”

            “Teddy?” Harry asked and Draco nodded. He loved that Draco thought about Teddy like that, without even having to be prodded.

            “Best not mention him to my father though; he wasn’t pleased that you have additional responsibilities. Mother knows about Teddy, of course, but she hasn’t been around enough to see how close you are. I think it would be prudent to play it off as you are more of an uncle, at least until after the wedding.”

            “All the better. What your father doesn’t know can’t hurt him,” Harry said.

            “Exactly. I am beginning to think we make an excellent match, you and I,” Draco said with a cunning smile.

            “So when do you think your father will be ready to work on the marriage contract?”

            “Soon, my mother will see to it. She cannot settle on a date for the wedding until the contract is in place and half the arrangements require knowing the date first. I plan on sitting back and letting her do all of the work of bringing him around.”

            “I like the way you think. Is there anything I should be doing from my end to get things going? I already stopped by the Burrow yesterday and asked Molly and Arthur to fill in as my parents for me.” Harry had been quite nervous asking, considering his recent breakup with their daughter, but they had agreed eagerly. It warmed his heart to know they were still so loving and accepting towards him, especially because one of his fears was that they would turn against him after the breakup.

            “Yes. I believe my father mentioned the physical. Most any general practice healer will do. Simply make an appointment and tell them that you need the complete marriage contract workup. They will know what to do.” Draco paused in thought, his index finger pressed to the side of his cheek. “You may have to mention that you are gay. There are extra tests and a psychological workup to separate the tops from the bottoms. It is all ancient mumbo jumbo as far as I can tell, but it is required.”

            “They aren’t going to look at my bits, are they?” Apprehension was evident in Harry’s voice.

            “Yes, they have to. Er, I am also under the impression that you have one virginity left. You should have that verified by the healer, because that might make things go slightly easier with my father.”

            Harry blushed, mortified at the idea of sharing personal information like that with Lucius Malfoy. “Ah, as my male parental figure, Arthur Weasley can handle that part of the discussion for me, right?” Not that he wanted that information shared with Arthur either, but if the two wizards could sort that bit without him there, then it would save him from having to endure the ordeal himself.

            “No, I am afraid not. Your real father, were he alive, would be able to make decisions for you but a surrogate father cannot. You can certainly have him and a solicitor with you, participating in the discussion and helping ensure your interest in the negotiations, but at least one Potter must be there.” Seeing the plaintive look on Harry’s face at that news, Draco continued, “I’m afraid the law was written that way to ensure that orphans are not cheated out of their birthrights.”

            “Alright, I guess I’ll do it. And I will have to work on finding a solicitor,” Harry conceded reluctantly. He paused then, trying to think how best to phase what he next wanted to say. He still was not very good with the romantic stuff. “We have been invited to the Weasleys for dinner the Sunday after this one, if that’s alright with you.”

            “Will your ex-fiancé be there?” Draco asked pointedly.

            “No, this Sunday is her farewell dinner; for Hermione too. September first is only a week away. They will both be off at Hogwarts until winter holidays.”

            Draco gave a curt nod, before saying, “That is a shame about Hermione; she wasn’t bad to have around.”

            “So you will go? Er to the Weasleys? With me and Leo?” Harry asked expectantly.

            Draco nodded. “Yes. I only ask that you stick close to us. I worry that not all of them will be so forgiving. What Greyback did to that one Weasley was technically my fault and I have not seen him since the war. He could want revenge.”

            “The Weasleys aren’t like that. You don’t have to worry about Bill. Besides, Greyback is dead and you helped bring in his pack; you repaid that debt if ever there was one. The only Weasley I’d watch my back around is Percy, because he’s a pretentious wanker.”

            “You mean Peter? The one who works at the Ministry?” Draco asked.

            “No, Percy. There is no Peter.”

            “Then who have I been calling Peter Weasley all of these years?”

            “Probably Percy. He and Arthur are the only ones who work at the Ministry.”

            “Does he know I think his name is Peter?” Draco asked self-consciously, wondering if he’d burned even more Weasley bridges than he’d known.

            “Probably not, but go ahead and continue calling him Peter. It’s fine with me. It’s funny and I’m sure George and Ron will get a kick out of it,” Harry reassured.

            “Alright. So I won’t see you this weekend then? Since you will be with the Weasleys?”

            “Sunday I might stop by the party; I haven’t decided yet. But you will definitely be seeing me Saturday and Sunday. I’ve been thinking of things we can do together with the boys. Leo loves animals. What do you think of taking them up to Hogwarts before term starts and let Hagrid show them all his animals? Hagrid and McGonagall offered to babysit, so we could go out to dinner Saturday, just the two of us.” Now that the school had been put back to rights, Harry felt the urge to stop by and see how the repairs had turned out and how the teachers were getting along.

            “That’s your idea for our first official date? Let Hagrid kill off our boys with his creatures, trust the remains to McGonagall to watch over, and stop by the Three Broomsticks for a bite to eat?” Draco asked sarcastically, one eyebrow raised and a scowl forming on one side of his mouth, making it clear that the idea was not up to par.

            “Er, no. I have other plans for our first official date. That’s tomorrow, so this weekend would be our second date. I know Wednesday is an odd day for a date, but the last Wednesday of the month is the only day the Louvre in Paris is closed to muggles. They open exclusively for the magical community, so that centaurs and wizarding children can walk around without having to worry about being found out. I do have to work in the morning, but I really think you will like it. Hermione wants to go too; she offered to portkey over with you and Leo in the morning and help you check into our hotel. Then I’ll take the afternoon off from work and apparate there. It’s not that far, so I can do it in two jumps. Because Paris is such a big city, they’ve already covered how to get there in forty-five seconds or less in Auror training. After a few hours, we’ll go back to the hotel, freshen up, and Hermione will watch Leo while we go out to some fancy Pureblood French restaurant,” Harry explained.

            “And what exactly is the Louvre? I have been to Paris with my parents, but have never heard of it. Is it new?” Draco asked confused.

            “No, it’s muggle. It’s a muggle museum full of beautiful muggle paintings and artwork. I hear it’s brilliant. I think it’s the type of thing you’d like. I know you aren’t super familiar with muggle culture and I thought this would be a good first taste. Like I said, it’s open only to the magical world tomorrow, so you won’t have to worry about the muggles while you look at their artwork. The hotel and restaurant are wizard run, so you’ll only have to worry about running into muggles on the street when we commute back and forth. Have you ever taken a taxi cab?”

            “No, what’s a taxi cab?”

            “It’s sort of a hired car muggles use to get around strange cities. I thought we could take one,” Harry explained.

            “Is it like a limousine? Mother and Father have taken a hired muggle limousine before to drive around in muggle inhabited areas.”

            “Sort of, but taxis are much cheaper and more common. I guess I can look into hiring a limousine. Do you have a carseat for Leo to ride in an auto?”

            “They do not come with seats? I was not aware we had to bring our own,” Draco replied.

            “They come with seats for adults, but not safety seats for babies. Don’t worry, I will get him one. So, um, do the date plans sound okay? If you don’t want to go to a muggle museum for our first date, we could do something else. It’s just that I know you said you were trying to be more pro-muggle and you were struggling with it, because you haven’t really ever had any actual experience with muggles. I thought that this would be a nice start. You’ll get a taste of the best of the muggle world, without being thrust into the deep end of muggle culture,” Harry rambled nervously.

            “It is an art museum then? A high class one?” Draco clarified.

            “Yes.”

            “And you want us to spend the day there in a strange country surrounded by muggles with only Hermione for protection?”

            “Yes. It’ll be perfectly safe.”

            “But I won’t be able to defend myself properly holding our son. And if Hermione is holding Teddy, she will not be much good either,” Draco explained.

            “Teddy?” Harry asked, pleasantly surprised that Draco wanted to include his godson.

            “Well yes, we cannot take Leo to a museum and leave Teddy at home. That does not sound particularly fair to me. I assumed we were taking him.”

            Harry smiled, elated that Draco would assume something like that. “Ah, I only planned on taking Leo. Both babies are too little to remember. I only thought of taking Leo because I know you don’t like to leave him for long. We can go back with both of them when the boys are old enough to remember.”

            Draco skeptically raised an eyebrow. “Normally I would say that good taste is something that must be engrained from an early age; the earlier the better. But since I have no idea what this museum will be like or whether or not it qualifies as good taste, I really am unsure whether either child should go. If it isn’t good enough for Teddy, then it isn’t good enough for Leo.”

            Harry sighed, thinking that Draco did have a point. Teddy’s parents were dead so it fell on Harry to do things like take the boy to museums. “Look, it’s good enough for both of them, but since none of us have ever been there before, I would rather we only take the one baby and see how it goes.”

            “Can we not bring more adults along to help out? I believe Molly Weasley and my aunt would be willing to come if asked. And I cannot believe I am suggesting this, but Hermione’s boyfriend is an Auror. Might he be available for protection? You did say you are only taking a half day off from work.”

            “I can ask Ron. That’s a pretty good idea, but I don’t want to invite the whole clan. I was hoping this could be our first date. If we stick to Ron and Hermione, then that could work; it’d be a double date. But I really would prefer if there weren’t any parents floating around killing the mood,” Harry explained, proud of Draco for suggesting the inclusion of Dromeda and the Weasleys.

            “Alright, but if we only have Ronald Weasley, then we will have to arrange another trip to bring Teddy.”

            “That’s fine.” Harry paused, thinking about what else he needed to cover. “You do like French food, don’t you? Because there are a lot of restaurants in Paris and if you don’t like it, we can choose another place.”

            “Harry, growing up we spent more time vacationing in France than we did Austria. We have a villa there and the only reason it was not chosen for our safe house, was that too many Death Eaters knew where it was. I was practically raised on French cuisine.”

            “Good. So, er, the date meets with your approval then?” Harry wringed his hands, slightly nervous again.

            “The trip to France, yes. The trip to Hogwarts, no. Have your friend Hagrid meet us in a controlled magical zoo with safe and benign creatures, like unicorns, if he wants to show the boys animals. I really do not know what you were thinking with that one. Do you have any memory of Care of Magical Creatures class at all or are you daft?” Draco asked with a smirk.

            Remembering the time Buckbeak almost slashed Draco’s arm off, Harry cringed and reluctantly agreed that Draco had a point about Hagrid. “Alright, I’ll set something up,” he conceded.

            “Good. We better get back to Leo. He’ll be waking up soon.”

            They stood then and walked hand in hand back to Dromeda’s house. Harry had missed his new little family so much in the last two days that he would’ve stayed there all night if he could. But he couldn’t stay too late, because he still had preparations to make for the next day. Leo needed a carseat, a limousine required hiring, Ron needed to know that his presence was requested, Head Auror Robards had to be told that Ron would be taking the afternoon off too, and Harry had to pack. Thus Harry left only as hour after dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draco is back in Britain and they have plans for the first few dates. I’m not at all familiar with Paris or the louvre, so if anyone has any ideas for what they should see and do in the next chapter, let me know. 
> 
> Also, how interested in paintings should Draco be? I know he was known for his sketches at school and he painted Leo’s nursery, but should he be super artistically talented? Might painting be a feasible career choice for him, given that he wants to be a stay-at-home parent? Or do you not see him that way? Maybe his artistic talents are limited and he has another career path in mind…
> 
> And finally, there is a very big event coming up quickly: once Malfoy Manor is returned to the Malfoys, Lucius can return home. Should he return immediately? How do you think the wizarding community should react? How big of a deal should it be? Should he be arrested and put on trial? Arrested and let go? Or just brought in for questioning and let go? Keep in mind that Dane and Kingsley were planning on letting the wizard off free and clear, on the condition that Draco marries Dane. How should the canceled engagement change things?  
> Please Review!


	36. Chapter 36

            Harry and Ron made the double apparition into Paris in record time, arriving in a strictly wizarding district not all that different from Diagon Alley, so that they needn’t worry about being overseen by muggles. From there they entered a public floo and came out of an ornate gilded fireplace in a secret back room at the Louvre, open only to the wizarding public on the last Wednesday of each month. Despite being a little used backroom, most of the beige stone of the walls was covered by intricate molding along the top and ancient tapestries on the walls. The wooden floors were freshly polished and shined everywhere but in the well-traveled path between the door and the fireplace. The room had the feel of the centuries old palace to which it belonged and it had the moist smell of the Seine River, to which it was adjacent.

            They expected Draco, Leo, and Hermione to be there waiting for them, but the only ones there were Hermione and an unfamiliar family waiting for them to move out of the way, so that they could use the floo. Harry stepped to the side to allow the family fireplace access. Ron instantly scooped his girlfriend up in a tight embrace, lifting her off of the floor and spinning around with her once. She let out a squeal of surprised delight and then motioned to be set back down, just as the last of the family stepped into the fireplace.

            A wizard came hurrying into the room then, headed straight for the fireplace, so the trio quickly moved out of the way, towards a less trafficked corner of the room. It was a good thing too, because before this latest wizard reached the fireplace, the floo roared to life and four giggling young witches came out, one after another. The witches gathered in front of the fireplace, excitement evident in their eager voices as they chatted away in Spanish about where to go first.

            “Excuse me! Do you mind?” the wizard in a hurry asked, motioning for the four new arrivals to move out of his way.

            The witches moved to the side, but continued their ceaseless chatter, while the impatient wizard exited through the floo. Soon they too left the room, headed into the museum proper. While Harry, Ron, and Hermione were there, the room continued to see a flurry of back and forth traffic, although it never contained more than a dozen people at any one point in time.

            Harry figured Draco and Leo were probably out in the hall, captivated by paintings or something. Peeking out the door, he was disappointed to see the tapestry covered walls of back palace corridors, which were not open to the muggle public. Thus if Draco was off lost in the art, the wizard wasn’t just out of sight. Unless Draco had a penchant for archaic tapestries Harry didn’t know about.

            “Where are Draco and Leo?” Harry asked, turning away from the door and back towards his friends, who were just breaking off a quick snog.

            “At the hotel. We were here this morning, but they went back for a nap,” Hermione answered, slightly out of breath.

            “Why?” Harry asked. The whole point of this trip was to expose Draco to a bit of muggle culture, so he had arranged for a limousine for transport at a few specific times. If they had made an extra trip back to the hotel, then they had done it by floo, defeating the purpose. “I thought there was a nursery here for Leo to nap. It’s supposed to have an area for breastfeeding too.” That was one of the features he’d looked into before deciding on this museum as an appropriate destination; after Hermione suggested it of course. On a normal day, the place would be crawling with muggles and Draco wouldn’t be able to use the nursery to nurse their son, but today the place was closed to muggles, so there was no potential for the male breastfeeding to be discovered. Instead it was swarming with witches and wizards, both emerging from and disappearing into the one fireplace connected to the floo.

            “There is and we did stop by there for Draco to feed Leo once. We spent more time at the first aid station the next room over though,” Hermione revealed.

            “First aid? What happened?” Harry asked, adrenaline pumping into his system as he began to imagine the worst.

            “Bloody Malfoy. He can’t get through one trip into muggle Paris without getting a booboo?” Ron asked exasperated. He’d been looking forward to this double date, because Hermione would be leaving for Hogwarts in less than a week. He wanted to have an enjoyable time with his girlfriend, not deal with Malfoy’s melodrama.

            “Ronald!” Hermione scolded, before turning to Harry. She kept her voice calm, trying to reassure her friend that there was nothing seriously wrong. “They’re fine. Draco had a dizzy spell, is all. He was examined by a healer they have on staff for the day and she said he’d be good as new with a good meal and some rest.”

            “What happened though?” Harry asked, unsatisfied with the short version of the story.

            “Everything was fine until we started walking through the large gallery with the impressionist pieces. We portkeyed to the Parisian Ministry without a hitch, flooed over to the hotel and checked in, and even navigated the limo without a problem. Luckily they sent a driver who knew how to install that carseat, because when I tried, I couldn’t figure out how to secure it sufficiently without magic. We were dropped off right out front and walked through this amazing glass pyramid they have for an entry room.

            “But then we barely made it into the second gallery when he went up to a painting of blurry flowers. You know how those impressionist paint, don’t you? It’s more about the feel and the vibrant colors than actually capturing the shape?” Hermione asked as she continued. Harry nodded. Ron didn’t know, but nor did he care; he simply motioned with his hands for her to get on with it. “Well he seemed drawn to one. He went straight to it, ignoring the rest of the pieces on the walls, and said something about there being a spell on it. He said he could feel it. He could sense the magic in it somehow. It really is quite amazing how some wizards can sense magic like a sixth sense. Harry, you said Dumbledore could do that, didn’t you?” Being able to sense magic was something she had yet to experience and like all things, she wanted to master it.

            “Yes, but what happened?” Harry asked, wanting to speed Hermione along. He still didn’t know what had caused the dizzy spell and sent Draco to the first aid station. If there was an enchanted painting involved, then it could be serious. It certainly wasn’t sounding like a drop of blood from a paper cut had caused it.

            “I am getting to that.” Hermione took a deep breath, refocusing on the tale, before saying, “He raised his wand and I was telling him that he couldn’t use magic in the museum, but before I could stop him, he cast a Finite on the piece. Of course that had the security guards come running in, because their alarms were going off. Like I said, it is forbidden to cast a spell on any of the paintings or works of art.”

            Ron chuckled and replied, “Only Malfoy would cast a spell on a painting. I suppose he just wanted to bring it to life, like wizarding paintings.”

            “No Ronald, it was a _Finite_ he cast on it. There was already a spell _in place_ on the painting. The moment he took it off, the flowers started spinning into a rapid tornado of color. It was a bit much and I could see how someone could become dizzy looking at it,” Hermione corrected.

            “Is that what happened then? The spinning painting made him dizzy?” Harry asked, hoping that was all.

            “Mostly. The guards came barging in. One of them put a freezing spell back on the painting, while another started questioning Draco. It was clear then that Draco was disoriented. He said he was fine, just a bit overwhelmed, but the guard and I insisted we stop by the first aid station and have him checked out,” Hermione continued.

            “Good, I’m glad you did. Did they find out what’s wrong?” Harry asked overprotectively.

            “Yes. Like I said, there was nothing serious, but a number of little things add up,” Hermione began. “First off, there is the fact that he is nursing. Breastfeeding a baby puts strain on any woman’s body. With a man, there is even more strain, because their bodies are not designed for it; less fat deposits to draw on and he’s on the slender side as it is. Switching time zones and changing eating schedules does not help. To top things off, Dromeda doesn’t have a house elf and he has absolutely no idea how to get food into his mouth without one! Purebloods, I swear, they would starve to death without their elves.” The passion rose in her voice as she began talking about elves and it was clear she was close to going on another SPEW rant.

            “But he has his own elf, doesn’t he? Harry, you said he brought an elf with him to help with the baby,” Ron said, trying to divert Hermione’s attention away from SPEW.

            “He does, but she only helps with Leo. She doesn’t cook,” Harry clarified to Ron, before looking again to Hermione. “But what does that matter? Surely Dromeda fed him this morning and I know she fed him last night.”

            “She did, but he couldn’t sleep last night, so he was up for hours without a meal. All he had was water during the night. Between the portkey, the activity of checking into the hotel, not being able to cast an Aguamenti in the limo with the muggle driver potentially watching, and walking through the museum carrying a baby, he became a touch dehydrated. They forced liquids on him, made him eat an extra meal, and told him to take a nap and he’d be fine. His vitals were already looking loads better when we went back to the hotel,” Hermione explained. “You really need to teach him how to fetch a snack on his own, Harry. It’s the _least_ he needs to know how to do. And limousines come with complimentary beverages; all he had to do was ask the driver for one, but he didn’t even know it!”

            “Alright, we’ll work on it. There is a lot he needs to learn about how to survive in the muggle world,” Harry agreed.

            “Wait, what happened with the painting? Why is a spinning wizard painting of flowers under a freezing charm in a muggle museum?” Ron asked curiously, clearly more interested in that part of the story than he was in Draco.

            “The guard explained that to us at the first aid station while Draco was eating. It was painted by a muggle ages ago. Shortly after, a wizard came into the gallery where it was for sell and thought that it was simply out of focus. He brought the painting to life, to see if that would help clear it up. But the muggle had been high on some muggle drug when he painted it. It wasn’t just the flowers that he painted, but the drug-induced trip. That is why the flowers are out of focus and why the painting spins when it is brought to life. Not wanting to buy a spinning tornado of color, the wizard cast a freezing charm on it and walked away. The muggle painter later became famous and the painting was donated to the Louvre. It’s been in the impressionist collection for years and wizards do regularly recognize that it is under a freezing charm and unfreeze it. Apparently it’s not a big deal to recast the freezing charm and set it to right, but they still do not want us casting spells on the paintings,” Hermione explained.

            “Makes sense. How long do you suppose it will be before Draco wakes up?” Harry asked, turning the subject back in the direction he was most interested in.

            “I’m not sure. It could be another hour or more,” Hermione answered.

            “I don’t know about you Harry, but I’d prefer not to stand around here all day waiting for Sleeping Beauty to wake from his nap. What is the plan Hermione? Can we start the museum without him?” Ron asked impatiently. He’d spent a good part of his summer with Hermione, becoming indoctrinated into muggle culture. Disney movies were on the list of things she and her parents had shown him.

            “Oh yes; I have been looking at the most wonderful paintings and statues all day. You just _have_ to come see. I have my mobile phone and left instructions on how to use it with the hotel desk. Draco knows to ask them to contact me when he and Leo are ready to return,” Hermione explained. She’d gotten the newfangled and highly expensive gadget in order to be able to communicate with her parents. Her phone didn’t work most everywhere in the wizarding world, due to interference from all of the magic. Typically her parents ended up leaving her messages, which she would check and return as soon as her signal returned. But the Louvre was a muggle establishment, so it should work here without a problem.

            With that, the three friends finally set about exploring the ancient palace turned art museum. There were marble rooms filled with marble statues, gilded rooms with painted ceilings, and corridor after corridor of painting upon painting. They had only explored a small section of the vast complex when Hermione’s mobile phone rang, indicating that Draco was ready to return.

            Ron and Hermione continued on through the museum, eager for a bit of romantic time on their own; this was their only chance at it, since they were scheduled to babysit Leo this Evening. Harry, on the other hand, journeyed straight back towards the rear room with the fireplace. Draco and Leo beat him there and were waiting outside the door, Leo in Draco’s arms.

            “Where’s the pram?” Harry asked, taking Leo from Draco and placing a kiss on first his boyfriend’s cheek and then on top of his son’s mop of black hair.

            “It was too difficult to bring through the fireplace,” Draco explained.

            “Do you want me to go back for it?” Harry offered, but Draco shook his head.

            “Leo didn’t think it was his job to sit still in the thing this morning. It was a hindrance having it with us.”

            “Alright, where to first?”

            “I didn’t have a chance to finish looking at the paintings. Although, Napoleon’s chambers really are magnificent and if you have not had a look at them yet, we really must start there,” Draco answered, taking Harry’s free hand and leading them back towards the museum proper. Harry’s other arm was wrapped around Leo, holding the curious child face out, so that their son could see.

            “I did with Hermione and Ron. They are a bit much, even for a dictator like Napoleon, don’t you think?”

            “No, not at all. His chambers are not all that different from some of the rooms we have back at the Manor. The Manor is older though.”

            “Of course it is, Draco. You grew up in a palace like this one then?”

            “No, this place has a cold, unused feel to it. The Manor has always been first and foremost a home. It has been continuously inhabited and has a feel of warmth and love that this place in lacking,” Draco answered, taking a turn that let them out into another marble room. This one contained a giant marble statue of Cupid reviving his lover, Psyche. “Have you seen this statue? It’s a beautiful muggle-made depiction of one of my ancestor’s greatest works.”

            Having reached the fireplace room through a different corridor, Harry had not seen this statue before. It seemed to be of a nude woman lying in the arms of a winged man. It was beautiful and captivating, but he didn’t quite know what Draco was referring to. “No, but it’s lovely. Your ancestor’s greatest work?” he asked, hoping for clarification.

            “From Lucius Malfoy the First, on his mother’s side. My father is the second Lucius Malfoy, you know.”

            Harry shook his head, to indicate that he didn’t know. Lucius’ father had not been named Lucius and no one had ever referred to a previous Lucius before. Harry had no idea who the first Lucius was.

            “Well he is. The first Lucius lived in the sixteenth century, back before the International Statute of Secrecy. His mother was of Roman stalk, from the Apuleius family. The oldest known record we have of the Apuleius family was a wizard who wrote a famous story about a wizard name Lucius. This scene with Cupid and his lover comes from that ancient Roman book. Lucius Malfoy the First was named after both the character in the book and after the Roman dictator, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, also known as Nero. My father was named after the first Lucius Malfoy, because my father possessed my paternal grandmother’s pale blond hair and Lucius also means light,” Draco explained, as they gazed at the statue of the lovers.

            “I thought Malfoys were always blond.”

            “Mostly blond, yes, but this shade of blond is unusually pale. Grandfather Abraxas had golden blond hair, back when he had hair, that is. Leo here isn’t the first raven-haired Malfoy. The first Lucius is depicted as more darkly complexioned, but those genes have long been washed out by our family’s general tendency to marry fair-skinned towheaded spouses.”

            “Luckily, you do not seem to suffer from that affliction,” Harry teased. Not only was his hair dark, but so was Dane’s.

            “No, but you do. I certainly hope you have not passed that on to our son; I’ve always feared grandchildren so pale they are mistaken for vampires,” Draco teased back.

            Leo started fussing to be put down. There were so many things the baby could crawl to and get into and being stuck in Harry’s arms was growing dull.

           “Come on, let’s go or we will never see all of the paintings I want to before we need to leave,” Draco said, once again leading them through the museum.

            They passed through many corridors, ignoring a myriad of beautiful artwork, before they reached a gallery of oil paintings.

            “I think the Mona Lisa is around here somewhere. Hermione was telling me it was here,” Harry said, glancing at paintings he didn’t recognize.

            “She already showed me, but it’s nothing special. Not quite right, that one, but these,” here Draco motioned both arms in wide sweeping arcs, indicating all of the paintings surrounding him, “these are masterpieces. It’s a shame they were done by muggles and never finished. I should like to bring each and every one of them to life…only the ones in this room though; those blurry ones in the impressionist wing can stay unfinished. Why ever they thought painting while out of their mind on opium was a good idea, is beyond me.”

            Harry didn’t know much about art, nor did he seem to have the appreciation for it that Draco had. He stood back and looked, saying things like, “Oh Leo, look at this one,” and pointing for the baby to look.

            Sometimes Leo would look, but most of the time the baby would continue his squirming, wanting to be put down. Harry’s glasses were the first casualty, knocked to the ground by Leo’s elbow as the baby struggled. When Harry summoned his glasses with his wand and put them back on, they caught the light and the gleam caught Leo’s attention. Leo then pulled the glasses off, smudging the lenses with little fingers, before trying to eat them.

            Draco, on the other hand, stared at one painting for several long minutes, taking in one detail, slanting his head to take in the same detail from another angle. Then he kneeled down and looked up at the same exact spot, as if he were examining the brush work or something. It seemed he was capable of looking at the same painting all day and at that rate, they wouldn’t make it out of this gallery before it was time for dinner.

            Bored, Harry eventually put Leo on the floor, but kept hold of both tiny little hands. Leo took the hint and pulled himself up onto his expensive Italian leather loafer clad feet, lurching around the gallery while using Harry’s hands for support. When the pair of them reached the baby’s target, there would be fussing as Leo tried to escape in order to pick something up off of the floor or touch something hanging on the walls. That was when Harry had to improvise and encourage Leo to turn around and walk back the other way through the gallery.

            At one point Leo sat on his bum and attempted to pull his shoes off. When Harry stopped him, he left them on, but leaned down and began to gnaw on the leather covering his big toe. Knowing that the shoes were an expensive gift from one of Draco’s friends or relatives and that Leo’s teeth were sharp, Harry couldn’t in good conscience stand back and watch the shoes be chewed up. Harry was tempted though, because he needed the break that allowing Leo to destroy the baby shoes would give him. Ultimately, he plucked Leo up and got the baby walking again.

            It was on one of these trips back and forth with Leo that Harry spotted a map of the museum and discovered that they were only a short distance away from something called Jardin des Tuileries, which appeared to be an outdoor garden. He thought Leo might enjoy the outdoors more, but waffled back and forth about leaving Draco alone. This was supposed to be a date and so far they weren’t spending too much of it together, thanks to their active son.

            Then Harry glanced at his watch and realized that they’d been in the same part of the museum for three quarters of an hour. He looked over to Draco, who was only on the third painting from the entrance and decided that he and Leo didn’t need to hang around while Draco studied these paintings all day.

            “Erm, Draco, is it alright if I take Leo out into the garden?” Harry asked, coming up behind Draco with Leo. “He’s rather restless.”

            Draco startled at the sound of Harry’s voice, having become lost in the art. He shook his head and said, “Yes, alright, that should be fine. But Jardin des Tuileries is rather large, so do me a favor and stay on this side of it. Or, em, be back on this side when it’s time for us to go.”

            “Will do. Thanks,” Harry said, leaning in to give Draco a quick peck on the cheek. “You will be staying here the whole time then?” Draco nodded and turned back to the painting he’d been studying. “Come on Leo, let’s go explore the garden.”

            The garden contained a large expanse of lawn in addition to statues, water fountains, hedges, benches, and even some flowers. Leo permitted Harry to carry him for a walk around the perimeter, eager to see what there was to see. After making the full circuit, Harry found an open patch of grass far away from view of the fountains and set Leo down. The baby crawled a few feet away and sat fascinated looking at the blades of grass for a few moments, before grabbing up a fist of them, which went straight to his little mouth.

            “Ah no! No you don’t, Leo. Father will be very cross with me if you eat the grass,” Harry exclaimed as he ran over and forcefully pulled the little hand away from the open mouth. Then he uncurled his son’s fingers and brushed the green blades and small clump of dirt out of the tiny palm, before casting a cleansing spell to boot.

            Upset that his fun was taken from him, Leo started crying. Harry scooped the baby up, positioning Leo on his shoulder and patting comfortingly. He started bouncing and walking aimlessly as he murmured into the little ear, “Come now baby, you didn’t think you could eat it just because Father isn’t here, did you? You know he doesn’t let you eat plants and he said he just fed you, so you can’t be hungry.”

            Leo calmed down and ceased his crying. Moments later, he reached out his chubby arm in the direction of a little brown bird. “Ugh!” he exclaimed, lunging in the direction he wanted to go.

            Harry fumbled as Leo lurched, but caught his son before the baby could fall. “You want to see the birdie, do you?” Harry asked and Leo nodded. “Alright, let’s go see.”

            Unfortunately, the bird flew away before they reached it. They followed after it, turning in whatever random direction the animal went. It was a meandering path that soon led them to an old witch, sitting on a bench with a loaf of stale bread and a flock of pigeons at her feet. There were a few of the little brown birds in the mix, darting after breadcrumbs as the witch threw them. Leo squealed loudly in delight at the sight, smiled widely showing his teeth, and clapped his little hands.

            Making a mental note to bring bread with them the next time they go to something as dull as a museum, Harry asked the witch if they could join her. She agreed, but her English was poor and Harry’s French was worse, so there was no chance of a conversation. That was fine, because she continued to toss out little bits of bread and the birds continued to dart after them, which pleased Leo immensely.

            Leo watched happily for several long minutes, before wanting down, in order to chase the birds. Luckily, the birds were quick and smart enough to stay out of the child’s grasp, darting backwards as Leo crawled forwards. The baby would turn towards another group of birds, while the first resettled, landing to peck at the bread crumbs in the grass. Leo thought it was great fun, so that was how they spent the rest of their afternoon.

            At five, they met back up with Draco, who was still lost in the oil paintings. When Draco looked up and saw them, his eyes were sparkling and his smile wide. He hadn’t gotten through examining all of the oil paintings in this gallery. Given the amount of time he spent looking at each piece, he clearly had a fondness for it.

            “You must really like art,” Harry commented.

            Leo reached out for Draco, babbling happily. Draco reached back and Harry passed the baby over.

            “Yes, seeing all of these unfinished paintings in one place is pretty amazing. It’s easier to study the technique when they are frozen like this.” Draco glanced back to the closest painting and his gaze became stuck, as he took in one more fascinating detail.

            “The technique? Do you paint then?”

            “I did. I do miss it terribly. Father never much cared for art, but Mother and I have a studio back at the Manor. Looking at all of these makes me yearn to be back there and pick up my paintbrush. So much inspiration! I had to give it up when I became pregnant though; the potions aren’t good for unborn babies. Nor are they approved for breastfeeding wizards…” Draco’s voice turned from excited to longing.

            “What sort of potions? Can’t you buy them?”

            “I could, but I would still need to use them to prepare the canvas, clean my paintbrushes, and the like. The oil paints themselves are toxic, so even if I had someone helping me there is no way to avoid it,” Draco explained.

            “There aren’t any non-toxic paints?”

            “Not this kind, no. I suppose I could switch mediums. There are non-toxic water colors, I believe, and I can always draw, if I had the time. Leo would never give me enough time to work on something like that.”

            “When he’s older, he will. Is that what you want to do? Be an artist or a painter?” Harry asked curiously.

            “Maybe. I do love it, but my father doesn’t think it’s a worthy occupation for a Malfoy. You heard him, he’d rather I go into politics.”

            “I don’t care what your father says. If you’re any good and you like doing it, you should paint. I’d like to see some of your artwork sometime. Is it all at the Manor?” Harry was thinking that that would be a good date, once the Manor was returned and the Aurors cleared out.

            Draco nodded. “I have a few pieces I’m proud of.”

            “What of?” Harry asked curiously.

            “Landscapes, mostly. My mother does beautiful portraits. When the Aurors give the Manor back, there is one she did of Leo and me I’d like to show you.”

            “I’d like to see that. I suppose you have it hanging up like these are, in gilded frames in grandiose rooms?”

            “Not that one, no. That one is in my bedroom. Some of the others are hanging up on display around the house; both mine and my mother’s; pieces that are worthy of hanging on walls like these. The muggles have excellent painters; it is such a shame they don’t know how to do the final step and bring these masterpieces to life. I wonder what these portraits will have to say if ever they are woken. It’s been centuries since some of them were painted,” Draco said, snuggling Leo to his chest and rubbing a cheek against his son’s mop of black hair.

            “I doubt any of them will ever be woken. Come now, we have a limo to meet,” Harry urged.

            Draco nodded and the three of them headed towards the front entrance. “Thank you for bringing me here and for watching Leo. I enjoyed it.”

            “I’m glad. Leo liked the birds, but let’s not bring him back to a museum for a long time,” Harry replied. After being on baby detail for two hours, he was exhausted and certainly ready to go and never come back. Maybe when Leo and Teddy were older, very much older, they could come back and appreciate the art. But taking a baby to the Louvre in Paris was not one of Harry’s better ideas as far as he was concerned. The only thing that made the day worth it was seeing how much Draco enjoyed it.

            “Maybe next time we can arrange a sitter and leave him back in Britain,” Draco agreed.

            They exited the glass pyramid at the front of the museum and met up with the limousine. Upon entering the vehicle for ride back to the hotel, Harry sighed in relief as he strapped Leo into the child safety seat. If there was one thing the muggles had right, it was restrictive safety seats with lots of straps. No matter how Leo fussed and wiggled, there was no breaking free, and that made Harry happy.

            Harry then took the seat next to Draco. Remembering Draco’s earlier bout of dehydration, he asked, “Do you want something to drink?” and opened up the mini-fridge. Not only were there bottles of water and cans of soda, but also bottles of wine and champagne.

            “Yes. What _is_ that thing?” Draco asked, eyeing the fridge and its strange contents.

            Harry then explained the concept of the refrigerator, while extracting a few cans of soda. He opened them one at a time and handed them to Draco to taste. Since Draco had never heard of soda, Harry then had to explain the exotic muggle beverages. Draco said the soda tasted alright, but assumed that the bubbles meant the drinks were alcoholic. Harry tried to explain that they were not, but eventually handed over a bottle of water instead.

            The limo ride was short and they were soon back at the hotel. There they set to getting ready for their date. That included a shower for Harry, breastfeeding Leo for Draco, and the pair of them changing into muggle evening wear. When Ron and Hermione returned from the museum, they picked up Leo. Harry’s friends would have a night in watching the baby while he and Draco had their night out on the town.

            They were finally free and clear to go, but they weren’t finished getting ready. Harry struggled with getting a comb through his hair, but Draco took mercy on him with a combing spell. Draco also fussed with Harry’s tie, redoing that with a spell too. When it came time for Draco to put his own muggle suit on, it was Harry’s turn to help.

            “Why can’t I wear my dress robes instead of this bloody muggle contraption?” Draco asked, motioning to the dress shirt he was wearing. It didn’t seem to fit right in the chest; it was tight in the breast area, with the material pulling apart at the buttons, despite the fact that Draco had just fed Leo.

            “Because we are taking a muggle limo there and after the meal we planned on sight-seeing along the river, through a muggle inhabited city,” Harry explained. “Can’t you use a spell to adjust it?”

            “I tried. I made it bigger, but then the entire thing was bigger and I was swimming in it. Then I made just the one area bigger and it made me look like a witch. It’s not cut right and I can’t seem to figure out how to adjust it to look right,” Draco complained.

            “Well what if you put one of your vests over it? That should cover the problem.”

            “But I am already supposed to wear the matching jacket over it and it might be cold tonight. I cannot wear a vest, a jacket, and a cloak.”

            The weather had been growing colder again, with more gloomy days than bright sunny ones, despite the fact that it was still August. This summer seemed content to slip past with only a few hot days, which meant there was a chance the temperature might drop lower as the night wore on.

            “You can’t wear a cloak around muggles, full stop. I have a pair of Molly’s sweaters for us to wear if it gets chilly,” Harry said and Draco eyed him, as if to ask if he was serious. “For now, a vest and the jacket will be fine.”

            Draco grumbled as he went in search of a vest that would match his tie. When he was finally dressed to Harry’s specifications, he presented himself in front of Harry and asked, “Is this alright?”

            “It’s brilliant. Let’s go,” Harry replied, rising from his seat on the sofa. They had had plenty of time, but Draco took so long getting ready that they were now running late for their reservation. The limo was already downstairs waiting, but if they didn’t get to the restaurant on time, their table might be given away.

            The restaurant was another ancient gilded Parisian affair with painted ceilings and large framed portraits on the walls. It looked like it would fit in perfectly in Napoleon’s time and the menu was written in French to boot. Harry knew only the bare minimum of French, not having any exposure to foreign languages, besides Latin, Gobbledygook, and Mermish, since primary school. Draco helped Harry navigate the menu and steered him away from the snail and frog legs, towards the much safer chicken choices, which Harry was grateful for. When it came time to order, Draco ordered for them, in French with a flawless accent.

            “You speak French too?” Harry asked, as the waiter walked away with their menus.

            “Yes, French, German, and Latin. Mother and Father were insistent that I learn and all of the vacations to the cottage in Austria and the villa in France helped.

            “I thought you spoke Austrian.”

            “German _is_ the official language of Austria. They speak it with an accent, is all,” Draco explained.

            A waiter dropped off a basket of croissants and butter then. Draco took one instantly and began a careful process of slicing it open and buttering the inside.

            “I thought they would serve us French bread in a French restaurant,” Harry commented, as he took a croissant for himself.

            “They do, but I asked for croissants instead. French bread is good if you’re in the mood for a good cheese, but there is something criminal about a trip to Paris without a croissant,” Draco replied, returning the knife and butter to the plate under the basket of pastries.

            “I’ve only been to Paris with the Aurors. It was all business with no croissants,” Harry replied, as he added a dab of butter to his own croissant. He moaned in delight as he bit into the warm, delicious, buttery, flakey, piece of perfection. “This _is_ good.”

            Draco nodded and helped himself to a second and then a third croissant. “Where did your family take you for holidays, if not to France?”

            “Nowhere, if they could avoid it. Mostly I got left with the squib down the street while they went on day trips to the shore.”

            “They sound dreadfully poor. I believe even the Weasleys went on the occasional trip out of the country.”

            “They did; Egypt and Romania, because that is where their oldest two sons moved. Ron told me that the lot of them usually spent a week off somewhere or another every summer. I believe he’s been to Paris a few times before. But then I suppose traveling is easier and cheaper for wizards. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to hire the car; so that you could see how long it takes muggles to get from one place to another and how they do it,” Harry explained.

            “I _have_ ridden in an automobile before, you know. Not often and not lately, but apparently that is to change. Hermione has ordered a car to take us across the English Channel in the morning.”

            “But I thought you were going to take the portkey back. Was it canceled or something?”

            “No, but apparently too many portkey trips is a short period of time can cause dizziness. The healer was being a bit overly cautious, but once Hermione latches onto something, she doesn’t let go. She decided that we will floo to the Channel where we will meet a hired car to take us across. Then we will floo home,” Draco explained.

            “Why can’t you floo across the Channel?”

            “Because the floo connection through the Channel is already jammed pack with international fire-call connections. It’s not wide enough to accommodate people too.”

            Their meals arrived then and their attention shifted towards the mouth-watering food on their plates. Despite the croissants, Harry was starving from all of the walking around the museum and Draco seemed just as famished. Harry paused in devouring his chicken dish only to ask Draco if the wizard wanted a taste. Draco accepted and offered a bit of his steak in return. Both were good and neither was the type of thing they could get back in England.

            When Draco finished eating, he put down his knife and fork, wiped his face, and looked up at Harry with wide expectant eyes. “Dance with me,” he requested.

            “Here? Now?” Harry asked, looking around nervously. The restaurant was full of witches and wizards who would see. They would notice his bumbling around the dance floor. Someone was sure to recognize him, even though they were in a foreign country, and then it would end up in the papers. France was not nearly far enough to be safe. Besides, classical music was playing and he had absolutely no idea how to dance to that type of music, evidenced by his performance at the Yule Ball back in forth year. At least then he had the excuse that he was fourteen.

            “Yes, here and now. Do you have a problem with that?” Draco’s tone was inquisitive and amused.

           “Yes,” Harry hissed, leaning over the table so that only Draco would hear his admission. “I can’t dance. I’ll make a fool of myself and it will end up in the papers.”

            “No you won’t, I won’t let you. You will be fine with me leading.”

            “No Draco, I’m serious. I _really_ can’t dance. You remember the Yule Ball, don’t you? I’m still _that_ bad.”

            “I remember Pansy Bloody Parkinson snuggling up to me all night and trying to kiss me. Uck. If I’d known what I was getting myself into when I asked her, I wouldn’t have bothered. It would have been better to come out of the closet and ask a bloke. I seem to remember you sitting the entire thing out with your Weasley friend. I thought maybe you were in the same situation, only brave enough to blow off whichever bird you’d come with.”

            “I did blow her off, but not before making an arse out of myself first. I’m telling you: I really can’t dance.”

            “And I am telling _you_ that it does not matter; not with me leading you. You will be fine. We can put up a privacy screen if you want. You know, the charm that makes an area all blurry and impossible for anyone else to focus on?”

            Harry did want to be in Draco’s arms. He remembered then the photo in the paper of Draco dancing with Dane and how envious he’d been to see it. He also remembered the time they’d danced together in Grimmauld Place and how easy it had been to fall into step when it was Draco he was following. And then there was the memory of the feel of Draco’s lithe body against his, which had his face flushing and his blood rushing south. Sufficiently cajoled, he agreed.

            When they stepped out onto the dance floor, Draco not only cast a privacy screen, but also requested a change of song. The music switched from classical music to a modern love song as Draco took Harry’s hands and closed the distance between them. Their bodies pressed tightly against each other as Draco began to move, leading them in graceful circles over the dance floor.

            At first Harry had to concentrate on not stepping on Draco’s feet or stumbling, but halfway through the song he became accustomed to the rhythm and movement. Then he started gliding along with Draco, feeling the magic of being in Draco’s arms. Draco was just a bit taller, so Harry had to tilt his head up to gaze into Draco’s pale grey eyes, which burned back into his. The fresh clean scent of Draco’s cologne and the feel of Draco’s hard body pressed into his, had Harry rock hard. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done for it in this very public place, even with the privacy screen up.

            “Next time, I want to take you to one of the clubs. I want to feel your body rocking against mine and for you to hear me rocking out on stage,” Draco whispered into Harry’s ear as they moved as one.

            “You sing?” That was a stupid question and Harry knew it. He’d heard Draco sing and he knew Draco was good at it too. Only he’d only heard children’s songs and lullabies. “I mean, you sing in public?”

            “Yes. I had a bit of a band going. We used to perform in the Slytherin common room. I don’t suppose the Gryffindor common room had its own band?” Harry shook his head and Draco continued, “No? Of course not. Slytherin is the superior house, after all. Our house parties were the talk of the school. Blaise plays the guitar and there was a pair of older boys who we’d get to play the drums and bass. There was a witch in the year below us who was pretty decent with the piano and a boy two years under us who sang back up. Vince and Greg used to beg us to join the band, but they were terrible. Couldn’t master a lick of music, the pair of them.”

            “You seriously started a band at Hogwarts?” Harry asked amused. Part of him could see Draco rocking out in the Slytherin dorms, but the other part didn’t think Draco had the guts.

            “Actually, I didn’t start it. I joined a pre-existing band as a backup singer first year. Professor Snape said it’d been going for years and that he’d tolerate it, as long as we kept the racket down and didn’t invite the other houses in. We just put up Silencing charms to keep him from hearing and were selective with who we invited over. It wasn’t until fifth year that most of the rest of the band had graduated and I finally had my chance at being the lead singer. Blaise wasn’t allowed on the guitar until then either, but I hear he was the lead guitarist last year. I gave it up along with Quidditch in my sixth year. Without me, the younger boy took over the Sonorous charm and a new backup singer was chosen.”

            That was slightly more believable. Harry could easily see a young Draco waiting on the sidelines for his chance at center stage. He nodded and the song ended. “You didn’t join the school chorus though.”

            “No, I’d never consider it, not with Flitwick in charge. That was the geek squad, that was. Thank you for this dance. I will expect them regularly, now that we are seeing each other. I hope you are prepared for that,” Draco said, pulling away and leading them back to their table.

            “Not entirely, no. But if you insist, I will give it a go,” Harry replied, holding out Draco’s chair for the wizard. Draco sat and Harry retook his own seat across the small table.

            As soon he sat down, Draco picked up the dessert menu. “The Crème Brûlée is excellent here and so is the lemon tart. Do you want to order one of each and split them?” he offered, jumping straight to the point. He had a sweet tooth and expected dessert.

            “No, I don’t want to get either. I want to take you sight-seeing and find someplace along the river to get dessert. I hear there are Crêpe stands and gelato shops all over the place.”

            “Do you mean one of those muggle carts selling food along the side of the river?” Draco asked pointedly.

            “Yeah, is there a problem with that?”

            “Yes. My mother says they are not safe to eat from.”

            Harry thought the carts were safe enough, but he didn’t particularly want to get into an argument about it. He didn’t want to spoil their first real date and he had heard stories about people getting sick from eating spoiled food served off of street carts. Out of everything the purebloods had wrong about muggles, a wariness of street venders was the least of his concerns. “What about the gelato shops? There are plenty in regular buildings.”

            “I guess I could be talked into having a gelato. Let’s go,” Draco conceded. He had been hoping for Crème Brûlée, but he liked gelato too.

            Harry settled the tab. They walked outside and he led them towards the river.

            “Where is the limousine?” Draco asked, looking around confused. He was unsure how to get around muggle Paris without one. They could hardly pull out brooms and fly.

            “Gone. We are walking to the river; it’s only a block away,” Harry answered. Although now he wished he had requested it to take them the short distance, since his feet hurt from all of the walking at the museum.

            “I take it you don’t wish to see all of the city then. I will not be able to walk far,” Draco warned, taking Harry’s hand in his. His feet were sore too.

            Harry smirked, but kept his surprise to himself. As they silently walked to the river, he leaned in to Draco’s warm body. It slowed their pace, but made the trip more enjoyable.

            They reached the river’s edge and Harry spotted the dock for the riverboat tours. He was leading Draco towards it, when the wizard pulled back, protesting.

            “Harry, I would prefer not to take one of those muggle boats,” Draco said, planting his feet and refusing to move a step further.

            “Why? They are safe and it’s a great way to see the city. We’re just going up to the Eiffel Tower then back to the hotel,” Harry countered.

            “Boats make me sick and I don’t have any potion for it on me.”

            “Oh…Oh! Are you still worried about your dizzy spell from earlier?”

            “No, but nor do I wish to end this date puking on your shoes. I’ve never done well on boats, especially not without a potion first. Can’t you call a hired car again?”

            “No, but we can take a tour bus instead,” Harry compromised. “I want to show you the city the muggle way. Only the richest of muggles travel around Paris in a hired limousine.” He turned back in the direction they’d come and was glad when Draco followed again.

            “If you haven’t noticed by now, my family is quite well off,” Draco teased with a smirk.

            “Which is why taking a bus will be an experience for you. Have you ever taken the Knight Bus before?”

            “No, but I have heard of it. My parents warned me away from it.”

            “Well that I can understand. The Knight Bus is a bit much, but muggle buses aren’t nearly as death defying.”

            They soon reached the stop for the tour bus and sat down on a bench to wait. There was a muggle couple, a young man and woman, already sitting on the bench. Draco sat on the edge of the bench, as far from the muggles as he could get, but to Harry’s surprise, he leaned in front of Harry to speak to the muggles in French. Harry waited patiently, pleased that Draco was bothering to interact with muggles, despite the fact that it was in a language Harry didn’t understand. Harry did understand the gestures the woman began to make, pointing up the river as she said one thing and then down the river as she continued. It seemed likely that Draco was getting directions.

            The conversation continued until the tour bus arrived, at which point Harry handed the Euros over for Draco to pay, because the wizard spoke the language and he didn’t.

            “What is this? I don’t know how to use muggle currency,” Draco protested, pushing the money away and back into Harry’s hands, crumpling the paper bills in the process.

            “But I don’t speak French. Don’t worry, just explain to him that we’re British and use British Pounds. They’ll help you figure out the Euros,” Harry explained, pushing the money back towards Draco.

            At that moment, the tour bus driver exited the vehicle and asked them something in French. Harry raised his eyebrow at Draco, indicating that he was useless with French and that Draco would have to do it. That forced Draco to answer the muggle and eventually he also presented the unfamiliar paper currency out for inspection. The muggle took a bill, gave them change and a pair of ticket stubs, and motioned them to take a seat on the bus with a few additional words in French.

            Draco led the way, choosing a seat as far away from the other couples as possible.

            Harry snuggled in next to his boyfriend and asked, “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

            Draco made a noncommittal shrug and answered, “I’ve no clue if he was ripping us off or not. He might have just charged us a hundred galleons for a short bus ride…. Come to think of it, I have no idea how much he _should_ be charging us for a bus ride. They must be cheap if commoners do it.”

            “Judging from the amount he took, he did charge a good amount, but it’s not just for the one bus ride. We keep the ticket stubs and then we can get on and off the bus as much as we want all night.”

            “That’s a relief, because that muggle I was talking to said the best place to get dessert is about halfway between here and the Tower. We can get off there, then?”

            “Yes, if you can locate it, that is. I’m not much good with directions in French and I’ve no clue where she told you to go.”

            Draco nodded and replied, “Not to worry; if sweets are involved, I can find it. It would help if I had a map though.”

            Spotting a stash of maps towards the front of the bus, Harry rose to retrieve one. He was about to pick up one that was clearly written in French, when he spotted an English one. Odds were that the bus driver also spoke some or possibly fluent English, but he didn’t bother mentioning that to Draco. Instead he returned to his seat and handed over the map.

            Draco studied the map and paid close attention to the street signs they passed. Soon he was rising and leading Harry off of the bus. They walked down a street lined with shops, many of which were already closed for the night.

            When they came to a bakery, Harry stopped and suggested, “Suppose we buy some croissants to take home with us. We are leaving in the morning and we can’t let Leo’s first trip to Paris pass without letting him taste his first croissant, can we?”

            Draco smiled and nodded in agreement with the idea. The shop also sold Crème Brûlée, and they ordered a few to take home with them as well. There were enough delicious looking pastries that Harry’s mouth started to water and he almost suggested they stop there for dessert. But Draco was already handing over the large sack of goodies and holding open the door for them to continue on. The gelato shop was just a few shops up. It was the best Harry had ever had, so he overdid it eating an extra-large scoop on top of the delicious French dinner. Draco had the same, but unlike Harry, he didn’t feel uncomfortably full afterwards.

            After they finished their gelatos, Draco led them on, insisting that they were closer to the next bus stop and might as well go on than turn back. Again they had to wait for a bus, but there was a gift shop there on the corner, so they stopped inside to buy souvenirs. Draco said they needed something to thank Ron and Hermione for babysitting, picking out a rather expensive miniature statue of the Eiffel Tower. Harry decided to buy trinkets for several of his friends, including Molly and Arthur, because they were expected at the Burrow for dinner soon.

            They had to hurry up and pay when they saw their bus coming and were soon on their way to the Eiffel Tower. They took a lift up to a viewing platform, where they looked out on all of the ancient, bustling city and the accompanying river. There were boats going up and down the river, despite how late it was getting. It was already dark, but the stars were drowned out by the city lights. There were lights everywhere, surrounding them from all sides and outlining the shape of the city. Paris at night was a beautiful sight to see.

            With the light of the moon overhead, Harry leaned in and pressed his lips to Draco’s. Draco leaned into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Harry as he deepened the kiss. It turned into a frantic, passionate snog. Harry rocked his body into Draco’s, eager for a bit of friction to relieve the pressure in his hard bits. Harry could feel the considerable bulge in Draco’s trousers and the sound of Draco’s moans in his ear urged him on. If it weren’t for the fact that they were in a crowded muggle location, they might have gotten carried away with it. As it was, Draco pulled back first, pushing Harry back. They stood in silence, with only the sound of their panting breaths between them for several minutes.

            Harry’s heartbeat pounded in his ears at first, but as he calmed down, it receded. “This is beautiful, isn’t it? I could stay here like this all night,” he said, wrapping his arms back around Draco. He was more careful this time, keeping his groin from touching Draco’s body, in order to keep himself restrained.

            “It is lovely, but I need to get back to feed Leo. We’ve been gone too long already,” Draco replied.

            “But you left Hermione with a bottle of milk, just in case, didn’t you?” Harry protested, wanting to prolong their night together.

            “I did, but my breasts are starting to hurt. I need to do something about it soon or I will start leaking. I don’t know how you plan on explaining that to all of the muggles around.”

            Harry suggested taking care of the problem in a muggle loo, which Draco thought was disgusting. Eventually they ended up ducking into the loo and apparating back to the hotel. They had a joined suite that shared a living room, but separate bedrooms. Draco ducked into his bedroom, locking the door behind him, to take care of his problem. Harry took care of his own extremely different problem in the loo of his own bedroom, before retrieving a sleeping Leo from Ron and Hermione.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next will be the Sunday dinner with the Weasleys and possibly Lucius and Narcissa returning to the Manor. Any ideas for how Draco might respond to being trapped in the Weasley Burrow, surrounded by red-heads?
> 
> The issue of how Dane and Kingsley are taking the canceled engagement will likely come up soon. A few people have mentioned that Kingsley should be upset over it. I'm not so sure though. How do we know Kingsley was for the relationship in the first place? Having his nephew marry into the Malfoy family doesn't seem particularly high up on Kingsley's priorities to me. Kingsley just sort of let his nephew do what Dane wanted to do. Since Kingsley doesn't have any children of his own and his sister's husband is dead, I see him partially playing the role of surrogate father to those kids. But as the uncle and as an easy-going bloke, I don't see him bothering to get involved with arranging marriage contracts and what not. Dane and Draco were only together for about a month, so I really can't see Kingsley as invested in the relationship. Plus, Harry and Kingsley get along well with each other. What do the rest of you think about it? Should Kingsley be upset or okay with it?
> 
> And what did you think of their date? After all of this time, I hope it lived up to your expectations.  
> Please Review!


	37. Chapter 37

            Friday that week the Aurors in charge of processing Malfoy Manor called Draco in to the Ministry to discuss exactly what they had done to his house, including which objects were removed for evidence purposes and which were confiscated for being illegal. They’d taken four months, because the Manor itself was very large and the grounds surrounding it were huge. There was more to be done, but what was left was movable and was already in Auror custody. That meant that they were ready to return the Malfoy estate to Draco.

            They met in one of the interview rooms, with scrolls of parchment all over the table, detailing every aspect of the investigation. Harry was there, standing to the side in support of Draco, but he was not part of this investigation. Auror Katz was the lead and as such, he did most of the talking. Katz worked under Lieutenant Stevenson, who was also there serving in a supervisory role; for the most part, Stevenson sat back and let Katz do the talking. Katz’ junior partner Cisternino was there too, along with their entry level assistant, Auror Hewitt. Together, Aurors Katz, Cisternino, and Hewitt made up the team that had been assigned to Malfoy Manor fulltime.

            When Katz talked, he turned frequently to Cisternino for confirmation, which the other Auror gave with numerous nods. And as Katz referred to one item or another, Hewitt produced the correct accompanying documentation from the table. Draco took the documents as they were offered and attempted to look through the scrolls and keep track of everything that was being said. But unlike the Aurors, he hadn’t spent the summer nose deep in the matter and there was a lot of material to cover. But at least Draco was getting his home back, for which he was glad.

            “It’s about time,” Draco said when the Aurors finished their presentation, “but you did remove all of the Dark Lord’s things from the underground bunker on the north side of the property, correct? You failed to mention them and just because they are on my family’s property, does not mean we should be responsible for them. I don’t want the task falling to my father and then you arresting him for being in possession of any of it, whatever there may be.” With as thorough as the team of Aurors was being, he thought it odd that they failed to mention something so important.

            The moment it was out of Draco’s mouth, Hewitt was scrambling for a clean scroll of parchment and inking his quill. It was his job to record any new information revealed in this meeting. Only he wasn’t prepared for such, because he thought the job was done and all of the information had already been squeezed out. Now he rushed to catch up and record every word.

            “What underground bunker on the north side of the property?” Auror Katz asked in response. He was the lead Auror when it came to Malfoy Manor and if he didn’t know, then the lot of them didn’t.

            “You don’t know about the bunker? What kind of Aurors are you?” Draco’s brows furrowed in ridicule and his face shifted into his trademark scowl. “Here, give me the map,” he drawled irritated, as he plucked the map of the property out of Hewitt’s outstretched hand.

            The Manor house was in the southeast corner of the property, after the large front lawn, down the long drive. The gardens were on the west side of the house. Surrounding that was forest on every side. Further to the west, the lake and lake house were on the far western side. But there was nothing but acre upon acre of forest to the north, except for the hidden underground bunker.

            Draco circled the location and added, “It’s right there. The northern most end is at a higher elevation than the surrounding grounds and the bedrock is exposed in places. A giant Douglas fir tree rises a good ten feet above the surrounding forest above the secret entrance. At the base of the tree is a large boulder covered in lichen. The side of the boulder abutting the tree has a large circular entrance carved into the side. The piece of stone taken out of the center was put back in place and used to cover the hole, making it difficult to locate. When I was a child, it was sealed in place with lichen and magic so tightly that I couldn’t budge it; I couldn’t even see it. Since its recent use, there should be some sign of disturbance. I don’t know what spells and protections are on the place, but that is your job, not mine.”

            As Draco spoke, Hewitt scribbled away, recording it all.

            “What exactly is in there?” Lieutenant Stevenson asked.

            Draco shrugged and said, “All of the Dark Lord’s personal effects. His bed, his clothes, his books, his stash of his favorite wine, things like that. It’s not secure enough that he would leave his valuables there, but that was where he lived when he lived with us.”

            “Which was?” Stevenson asked.

            “He lived there before I was born and came back after he regained his body, whenever it pleased him. That was where Pettigrew left his wand for him after his defeat by the Potters and where all of his inner circle would drop things off for him. I believe there is an outer chamber the inner circle of Death Eaters had access to and an inner chamber that only the Dark Lord could penetrate,” Draco explained.

            Katz lifted up his left hand to signal that he needed a moment. He was deep in thought, as he turned his attention to Hewitt’s notes. The pointer finger of his other hand skimmed along half an inch above the parchment, careful not to smear the wet ink. Finally, he collected his thoughts enough to ask, “And what was it you were saying about the bedrock? What does that have to do with the bunker?”

            “It’s easier to tunnel into. The rest of the grounds are covered with foot after foot of topsoil and leaf litter from the trees. You can’t tunnel into it. But on the northern end, especially right where the tallest bloody tree in the entire county is, the soil is minimal and the bedrock is right there at the surface. How in Salazar’s name do you think that tree stays up with no soil for its roots? The thing is growing in magic, anchored into the bedrock! How did your sorry arses miss it? I found the thing on a broom when I was six! You can literally _feel_ the magic seeping out of the place and dark magic to boot, not just the magic of the tree.”

            “So the bunker was tunneled out of the bedrock, then?” Katz asked for clarification, ignoring the insults.

            Draco nodded. “Well I have never been inside. I assume it is sort of like an underground cave, but I cannot be certain.”

            “Do you have any idea how far down the bunker is? It might be so far underground that it will be difficult to break into,” Katz said.

            “No idea. I don’t care if you have to blow up the entire northern end of the forest to uncover it. Destroy the entire bunker if you have to, but I don’t want any of his stuff left on my property,” Draco replied.

            The Aurors weren’t about to leave something like that unprocessed, which meant that Katz readily agreed to take care of it. They would have started there, if they had known it existed. “Of course. Why didn’t you tell us about this before?” he asked.

            “I thought you knew.” Draco’s brows narrowed accusingly. “What kind of Aurors would miss the Dark Lord’s house? Where did you think he slept? In the trees with his snake? If you couldn’t find it, why didn’t _you_ _ask me_?”

            Draco had been in contact with Katz and Cisternino through owls for months already. In the beginning the inquiries and missives were frequent and urgent, but as of late, they had pretty well exhausted Draco’s knowledge of the events of the war. The letters had dropped down to an average of no more than one per week, with some weeks in between when he didn’t receive anything at all.

            “We thought he stayed in the main house,” Cisternino said.

            “Now that we know otherwise, we will get right on processing the bunker,” Katz replied.

            “Understandably, there will be a delay with releasing Malfoy Manor to you,” Lieutenant Stevenson added.

            “Why? The Manor and the bunker are on opposite sides of the property. You have cleared the house, why can I not go home?”

            “Draco,” Harry said, stepping into the discussion for the first time. Up until then he’d been standing against the wall listening, letting Draco handle things for himself. “It isn’t safe. There could be something really dangerous in the bunker. What if it’s booby trapped and the place explodes when they try to enter? If you and Leo are at the Manor and the tremor rocks the foundation? You could be hurt.”

            “Leo could be hurt,” Draco said nodding. He was more concerned about his precious baby than his own welfare. If it was just him, he’d go home and risk it, but he wouldn’t take the chance when it came to Leo.

            “Exactly. You can stay with your aunt a few more days while Katz sorts this out, can’t you?” Harry asked.

            “I guess,” Draco replied reluctantly. He wanted to go home already. Staying on the foldout bed at his aunt’s wasn’t comfortable, nor was it home. Yesterday he’d gone so far as to send owls to all of his friends and family, to find out who had survived the war and which of them were still willing to talk to him. He was seriously considering asking Blaise or Theo if they would let him and Leo stay for a few nights, especially now that he knew there was another delay with the Manor. However, Leo’s safety was his number one concern, which meant making sure his friends weren’t mad at him and didn’t have a problem with the fact that he had Harry’s baby. Dislike of Leo was why he was extra worried about asking his extended family to take him in, since they had all lost family in the war and were Dark Lord supporters.

            “How much longer is this expected to take?” Harry asked Katz.

            “There is no telling until we go out there and see what we are dealing with,” Katz answered. “It would be easier if we knew what protections were on the place or had access to the outer chamber. Lucius Malfoy would have access, wouldn’t he?”

            Draco confirmed that his father did indeed have access. The only problem with that was that so far Lucius had not been responding to Auror inquiries. The head of the Malfoy family was a smart wizard who knew the value of his information and thus was not willing to disclose a peep of it without a plea bargain firmly in place. When Draco had been engaged to Dane, there was a plea bargain on the table that Lucius had agreed to. The deal was to be signed upon Lucius’ return to the country and then the wizard would come in to speak with the Aurors. What exactly was going on with the deal now that the engagement had been canceled and the courting put on hold, was still up in the air.

            Whatever the case with his father, it was not something Draco could help with and he had to get back to Leo. Thus the meeting ended, Katz, Stevenson, and Cisternino went off to speak to Minister Shacklebolt and Head Auror Robards, Harry went back to work, and Draco returned to Dromeda’s. Hewitt was left there to clean up and organize the parchment scrolls.

            Late Sunday night, just two days later, Harry received a message from Dromeda as he was climbing into bed.

 

_-Harry_

_Draco is driving me crazy. My house is too small for the four of us. It is like when I was little and living with my parents and sisters all over again. You need to have the Manor released immediately._

_-Love, Dromeda Tonks_

 

            Things were obviously strained with the given situation and that was with Draco and Leo gone half the time: they’d spent most of the previous two days with Harry at Grimmauld Place. They’d spent most of Wednesday and Thursday in France. Draco spent Friday morning at the Ministry and Harry knew that Draco and Leo had gone out to visit some of Draco’s friends afterwards. Draco was clearly doing his best to be at Dromeda’s as little as possible. It would only get worse the more they stayed there.

            Unfortunately, there wasn’t much more Harry could do with regards to speeding things along, although he agreed that Draco needed the Manor back ASAP. He missed having Draco and Leo around every night when he got home. They were no longer there brightening his mealtimes or cheering him up after a long day of work. Now he had to come home to a dreary house, change out of his Auror robes, and then go to Dromeda’s to see his family. He was over at Dromeda’s almost every night, excepting Wednesday night and the weekend, when Draco had been with him.

            The weekend had been perfect, up until bedtime, when Draco and Leo had returned to Dromeda’s. Harry knew moving them into Malfoy Manor wouldn’t put things back the way they had been, but it was a start. It would mean they were close enough to floo over whenever they wanted and no longer someone else’s guests. Plus, it would earn him bonus points with Draco’s parents and given that Lucius wasn’t at all fond of him, he needed all of the points he could get.

            Thus Harry went in to work Monday determined to put pressure on his boss and the Aurors working the case. The only thing left was cracking open that bunker. Head Auror Robards had declared Friday that it needed to be handled as soon as possible, because there was no telling what sort of evidence they would find inside, but it was reasonably certain it would be a treasure trove of Voldemort paraphernalia. Thus Robards had put a task force of over a dozen Aurors on the project the moment he’d heard about the bunker. Unfortunately, a dozen Aurors over the weekend were not as effective as a modicum of inside information. Information Lucius Malfoy had.

            For once Harry was without his sidekick as he headed in to Auror headquarters. Ron took that Monday off, in order to see Hermione and Ginny off on the Hogwarts Express. Harry would’ve liked to see Hermione off, but it was still too soon for him to be comfortable on the same train platform as Ginny. And that was not even mentioning the reporters.

            Everyone seemed to want to know if Harry had been cheating on Ginny with Draco, or if Ginny had been cheating on Harry with Ellard. Skeeter wrote an article speculating that Harry and Ginny’s relationship had been a ruse from the beginning, to cover up the fact that Harry was a flaming pouf. Dumbledore had allegedly encouraged Harry to hide his sexuality, just as the late headmaster himself had. Harry could have come forward and told the wizarding world the truth regarding his bisexuality, but he didn’t particularly care and was much more concerned about avoiding the issue and the media altogether. The way he saw it, it was none of their business. If Draco wanted to know, then that was one thing, but everyone else could fuck off when it came to the details of his personal life.

            Harry had been dodging reporters ever since he gave that last interview proclaiming his love for Draco. It wasn’t enough to put it out there, because _every single bloody fucking_ reporter thought that they had a right to an exclusive too. He’d been dodging the reporters before then too, after the breakup with Ginny. Truthfully, he’d been dodging them all summer, since he defeated Voldemort. He’d spent the better part of four months looking over his back whenever he was in public, for fear that the reporters, photographers, or the groupies were following. Given that he worked at the Ministry and Auror training took him all over the place, he was in public a lot. Irrespective of that fact, platform Nine and Three-Quarters was far too public a place to risk a scene with Ginny, for Harry’s tastes, so he didn’t go.

            Instead Harry reported to work as usual, intent on pushing the Malfoy Manor situation. As it turned out, he needn’t bother, because he received a message to report to the Minister’s Office upon his arrival. He checked in with his direct supervisor, before making his way to Kingsley’s office.

            Kingsley’s secretary told Harry to go right on in when she looked up from her pile of scrolls and saw that it was him. Harry nodded and muttered a quick, “Thank you,” before letting himself into the Minister’s office.

            Kingsley was on his knees with his head in his fireplace, giving orders to someone regarding something or another. When he heard Harry enter, he looked over his shoulder, before wrapping up his fire-call. He was soon straightening his tall frame and dusting the soot off of his robes. “Harry! Good to see you!” he exclaimed, giving Harry a one-armed manly hug.

            Sighing in relief, Harry smiled and returned the manly one-armed hug. He’d been worried that the relationship between him and Draco and the fact that he’d driven a wedge between Draco and Kingsley’s nephew Dane, would make things awkward between him and the Minister. Apparently, that was not the case. “Kingsley, good to see you too,” he returned.

            “I suppose you know why I’ve called you in here. The Malfoy estate; I cannot believe my team of nitwits failed to find Voldemort’s bedroom when they have been sitting on it for the past four months. I owe young Draco for pointing that out before the oversight made it into the papers. I can just imagine the headlines now: Incompetent Minister Lets He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-Even-In-Death’s Lair Slip Out Of His Hands Unknowingly.”

            Harry chuckled appreciatively. They both had front page headlines to worry about with every move they made.

            “Draco Malfoy has been helping the Aurors out with leads for months now, which is something that cannot be said for Lucius Malfoy,” Kingsley continued. “The youngest Malfoy seems to be a better man than I gave him credit for. Not that I’m not relieved that he and Dane are cooling things off; believe you me, I was not looking forward to being in-laws with Lucius.”

            “So you’re okay with it then? That I’m the reason Draco called off the engagement?” Harry asked.

            “Definitely.” Kingsley’s smile was wide, his white teeth reflecting the artificial sun coming in from the large fake window. “I wasn’t about to tell Dane who he could or could not marry, but between you and me, I think the boy was thinking with his groin rather than his brain with that one. I probably oughtn’t to mention that to you though, since you are like minded in that regard. I wouldn’t want you changing your mind now and leaving me having Christmas dinner with the entire Malfoy family every year. Things are different for you though; you share a child and make a smashing couple. I’m sure you’ll have a great time at all those family gatherings with Narcissa and Lucius…” Kingsley stopped himself there, took stock of what he’d just said, shook his head, and corrected, “I should probably stop myself there. I seem to be digging myself in deeper into this hole.”

            “You don’t much care for Lucius, I take it,” Harry observed.

            “No, I don’t. That is no reason to object to Draco Malfoy though; he at least, seems to have a conscience.”

            “Are you going to lock Lucius up when he returns? I mean, I know Draco has talked with him and that he plans on coming back just as soon as the Manor is turned over, but I don’t know what’s up with the plea bargain you offered him.”

            Here Kingsley interrupted Harry, by interjecting, “About that: we need him. That is why I sent word for you to report to me first thing this morning. All of the Auror Department’s resources over the past three days have been directed towards getting into Voldemort’s lair. We cannot break through; we can barely detect it, for Merlin’s sake! If it weren’t for Draco describing exactly where it is, we wouldn’t have ever found it. He must be unusually sensitive to magical signatures, that one. At the very least, he seems to be tuned into Voldemort’s signature.”

            Harry nodded, remembering what Hermione had said in Paris about Draco being drawn to the magic in the painting. Draco was one of the very few people who had ever looked straight into Harry with his invisibility cloak on too. The wizard had even stunned him while invisible. Sure it sucked majorly at the time, especially given the broken nose that followed, but it still said something about Draco’s innate ability to sense magic. Dumbledore was the only other wizard who Harry had known to sense magic so strongly.

            “I wouldn’t have agreed to Dane’s hair-brained idea to give Malfoy Senior a plea deal, especially not one where he gets off free and clear, if it weren’t for the lack of evidence on the git. As far as we can tell, he was released from Azkaban and was punished by not being allowed to join in the mayhem with the rest of the naughty little Death-Eaters. Voldemort thought it a punishment, but in reality it was a huge favor, now that we’ve won the war. Plus he’s lawyered up to the hilt and he protected your son during the war. The Malfoys, all three of them, claim Lucius was involved with Draco’s decision to release you and your friends on Easter and give you the location of a Horcrux. I’m not entirely convinced it went down like that—personally I think Draco acted alone and once you were gone, he told his parents—but, it doesn’t matter, because either way, Lucius ferried your son into a pre-planned impenetrable safe house that night. Lucius did it, not Draco or Narcissa; we know this because Lucius is the only one of the three who can drive a car. No Minister for Magic could see the Savior of the Savior’s son off to Azkaban and hope to win reelection come voting day.”

            Putting it that way, that Draco had saved Harry and then Lucius had saved Draco and Leo that Easter night, made Harry’s respect for Lucius grow. He’d been assuming Draco and maybe Narcissa were primarily responsible for the lot of them going into hiding and Leo being kept safe. But Lucius was the head of the family and ultimately made the decisions. Leading the family through a successful escape seemed to fit the wizard. If nothing else, Lucius was devoted to his family, even when that included Harrys’ son.

            Now that Harry knew what was involved with transporting a baby out of the country, he began to wonder just how it was done. They were operating in secret, so portkey travel was out. Leo was too little to apparate with. Floo travel was blocked at the English Channel. And Draco didn’t do boats well. That left driving a car as the only option, which fit with Kingsley’s statement. Draco still didn’t know how to drive and he’d probably recounted the escape to Dane, who had informed Kingsley. They probably didn’t drive the entire way, flooing once they were on the continent, but still, there was no way Draco could have pulled it off without his parents. Lucius was critical and that meant Harry owed the man a certain degree of respect and gratitude.

            “So you are still willing to let him go then?” Harry asked hopefully. If this issue with Draco’s father could just work itself out, then he would be clear to marry Draco. Lucius might still dislike him, but if he could offer the same plea deal Dane did, it would go a long way to ingratiating himself to the wizard. After all, that was part of what Lucius had tried to force him into agreeing to with the first courting contract.

            “Yes, provided he helps us get into that bunker. The same arrangement with him having to testify and spill the beans on everything he witnessed still applies, but in addition to that, we need his help with this situation. If he returns immediately and breaks those enchantments for us, then I’ll sign the contract and guarantee him amnesty for his past crimes. I sent off an owl yesterday with the message, but we really cannot afford to wait around on this one. Dane tells me Malfoy Senior always has a solicitor examine all communications and typically takes on the order of a full week to respond. We cannot wait a week. We need Malfoy back in the country today and that is where you come in, Harry.”

            “Let me guess; you want me to have Draco call his dad back,” Harry guessed.

            “One better, I want you to travel to Austria with this new plea bargain in hand and get him to sign it. I’ve already signed it, so all it needs is his signature, his lawyer’s signature, and that of a Ministry witness, which is you. The three of you sign this scroll and bring him back to me by the end of the day and I will owe you big time. You want a law making it illegal for reporters to pester you, you got it. You want extra time off for your honeymoon with Draco Malfoy, I can have that arranged. You want a monetary bonus, I can do that too.”

            “There is one thing I would like,” Harry hedged.

            “And what is that?”

            “Severus Snape to be posthumously awarded an Order or Merlin, First Class, for saving my life all of those times. And I want a holiday in his honor; his birthday perhaps.” Snape was one of the many people Harry had never gotten a chance to repay. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to properly thank the wizard. On top of that, he had spent all that time thinking the worst of the double-agent, when the one person Snape was always loyal to was his mother. Part of it was Snape’s fault for treating him so poorly, but that part was overshadowed by the fact that Snape was _the_ martyr of the final battle. When it came to the end, it was Snape’s deceit that allowed Harry the victory.

            Snape was still the unsung hero. Harry had done his best to make the invaluable role the wizard had played known; it was one of the few things he didn’t mind talking to reporters about. But Snape was dead and there was not much that could be done to honor the dead, besides the funeral, which was maxed in attendance, primarily because everyone knew that it was the one funeral where Harry Potter himself was giving a eulogy. A funeral and a eulogy didn’t seem sufficient to repay not just the ending of a life, but an entire adult life spent making reparations for a deadly mistake made in youth.

            “Deal.” Kingsley stretched out his hand and they shook on it.

            Kingsley summoned a file folder out of one of his many filing cabinets, leafed through the papers and declared, “The ninth of January is hereby a national holiday, in honor of Severus Snape’s birth. You can count on having the day off, unless you agree to participate in the parade. The Order of Merlin might take a bit of time, but I will get to work on it straight away while you take care of the Lucius Malfoy situation.”

            Happy with the exchange, Harry gathered the scroll and left. One way or another, he was going to get Draco’s father back in the country ASAP.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t get to dinner with the Weasleys, so that and the rest of the Lucius drama will be next for sure. Besides that, I think they’ve settled most of their issues, so I’m thinking of jumping ahead in the timeline; you know, sort of go through the next couple months all in one or two chapters, until the wedding or something like that. 
> 
> There is one very important thing I need to figure out before I can end the story: what should Harry and Draco’s daughter be named? The first name should be some form of Harry’s mother’s name, Lily, Lilith, or Lilian, depending on the middle name. I’m leaning towards Malfoy Potter for the last name, but I’ve no idea for the middle name. I would like it to have a Malfoy or Black ring to it, so that Draco’s family is also represented. I’m leaning against a star or constellation name, just because I’ve already done that so many times in my other stories. But I still want it to be the type of ancient or odd name the purebloods prefer. Any ideas?


	38. Chapter 38

            After leaving Kingsley’s office, Harry went first to see Draco to let his boyfriend know what was going on. That turned out to be critical to the success of the mission, because Draco had invaluable advice. It was probable that Lucius wouldn’t know how to get into the innermost chamber of the bunker. If that was the case, Draco’s father might reject the deal and refuse to help at all, knowing that he couldn’t fully satisfy the conditions of the bargain.

            Consequently, Harry went back to Kingsley with the issue. After a short discussion, Kingsley produced a modified copy of the original contract, stating that Lucius was only obliged to get them through to the outer chamber.

            As Harry rolled up both of the scrolls, the original and the modified one, preparing to leave, Kingsley added, “Make sure you try to force him to sign the original first. The modification is only for the worst case scenario: if he is refusing to help at all.”

            “Yes Minister.”

            “Thank you for handling this for me.”

            “You’re welcome; this will help me too.” With that and a nod from each, Harry was on his way to Austria.

            Just as Draco had predicted, Lucius refused the first contract, claiming not to be capable of passing from the outer chamber to the inner ones. According to the wizard, there were wards in place that would only allow the Dark Lord to enter. Dismantling those wards was beyond Lucius’ capabilities and would thus fall to the Aurors. Whether or not the Aurors could dismantle the inner wards was an issue that would have to be faced when they got to it, but Lucius did indeed know how to get passed the wards to the outer chamber and that was what was currently stymieing the Aurors.

            Harry then produced the modified contract, which Lucius found much more appealing of an offer, because he could actually fulfill this one.

            “Perhaps, Auror Potter, this arrangement between you and my son might work out after all,” Lucius said as he inked his quill.

            Lucius, his attorney, and Harry signed the contract, making it legal and binding. Then it was time for the return to Malfoy Manor. Harry used the floo at the cottage to fire-call his fellow Aurors with news that he and Lucius were on their way back and headed straight for Malfoy Manor. He was assured that there were already Aurors on site to meet them.

            After months of Auror training, Harry was at the point where he could cross Europe in a relatively short period of time, without a portkey. He flooed from Austria to the French boarder. From there he apparated to Paris, one more stop on British soil, and then he apparated to the Malfoy estate in Wiltshire. Lucius was already there, pulling outdated, but formerly top-rate brooms out of a broom shed, one of which he offered to Harry.

            They mounted the brooms and Harry followed Lucius north to the location of the bunker. The Aurors came swarming out of the forest like disturbed bees, but Lucius stood his ground, producing the plea bargain granting him complete amnesty. Eventually Lieutenant Stevenson read through the document, verified its validity and that all of the correct signatures were in place. The commotion settled down, with the Aurors gathering in a circle around the hidden entrance, leaving just enough room for Lucius and Harry to stand in front of the pack. Lucius then led the Aurors into the outer chamber, showing them how to undo the powerful enchantments protecting the place.

            The outer chamber was a prized find for the Aurors in its own right in terms of evidence.

            Various Aurors were fanning out on all sides, taking stock of what was in the room, when Lucius cleared his throat and announced, “The living quarters are further on, through the floor there, where that feint circle is. To pass the boundary, you must speak parseltongue. Only the Dark Lord and his snake could pass. Furthermore, there is another boundary into his bedchambers, which he entered by presenting a sample of his blood. Only someone who has the same blood running through his veins can pass that layer and I am not, nor am I a Parselmouth. Therefore, I will leave you gentlemen here and return to my home.”

            Lucius left, apparating out of the room.

            Harry was the first to speak, “My blood flowed in his veins. I should be able to get us passed the last boundary, but I can’t speak to snakes anymore. I lost that ability when he killed me in the Forbidden Forrest.”

            “Parseltongue is exceedingly rare, but buck up, we’ll find a way,” Katz said encouragingly.

* * *

 

            When his shift ended that evening, Harry went first to Malfoy Manor, to warn Lucius of the potential danger of staying in the house, when they didn’t know what traps might go off over at the bunker.

            “I am well aware of the dangers located on my property, Auror Potter,” Lucius replied. “Unless you and your fellow Aurors purposefully explode the bunker, there is nothing there that could possibly harm me here. Just because I do not have access to the inner chambers, does not mean I am ignorant to the hazards inside. Narcissa will be coming in the morning and I expect Draco will join us by this time tomorrow. If your team decides to blow the bunker, then you must first obtain my permission. Furthermore, if you fail to warn us to evacuate prior to setting off Bombardment charms, any injuries we suffer will be on your hands.”

            “Er, we’re not planning on using explosives yet. I still think you all ought to stay away until we’re through with the bunker though,” Harry retorted.

            “According to the contract we signed, I am free and clear and have a right to return home. That is exactly what I intend to do. I have something for you though,” Lucius said, pulling out a thick stack of parchment from a leather briefcase he’d brought with him from Austria and handing it over to Harry.

            Harry read the few bold words written on the first page and looked up at Lucius with awe. The wizard was finally accepting him and giving him what he’d been hoping for. “Sir?” he asked, not knowing what to say.

            “Instructions for beginning the marriage contract,” Lucius explained. “I suggest obtaining a solicitor to help you with the process.”

            “Thank you, sir,” Harry choked out, a smile forming on his lips.

            By the time Harry made it over to Dromeda’s to see Draco, he was grinning from ear to ear. He showed Draco the contract and informed the wizard of the good news.

            “Brilliant!” Draco exclaimed, throwing his arms around Harry and engulfing the wizard in a bone-crushing hug. “When do you have your appointment with the healer?”

            “The day after tomorrow. It was the soonest I could get,” Harry answered. He knew the physical was a requirement for an arranged marriage and he was on top of it as best he could, because he wanted the contract agreed upon as soon as possible.

            “You could have gotten sooner, if you had pushed, but I know you don’t like to. This is so wonderful! Do you have a lawyer yet? If not, you need to choose one right away. You’ll never get through this mess of legal jargon without one.” With the last statement, Draco motioned to the packet of parchment still in Harry’s hands.

            “I have. I’ve already arranged a meeting for Friday, because the test results from the healer should be back by then.” Harry’s heart was practically bursting with joy from Draco’s positive reaction. He’d feared that Draco would be torn about this, due to lingering feelings for Dane, but apparently his love was ready to rush ahead into a marriage contract without even sparing a thought for the other suitor.

            “Don’t wait for then! Send this along to him now so that he can start right away!” Draco urged, pulling Harry towards the perch where Kevin sat in the living room, side by side with Dromeda’s barn owl.

            Being an eagle owl, Kevin was quite a bit larger and stronger than the other owl. With the weight of packet of parchment they needed to send that would be very important. Draco conjured a large square of brown butcher’s paper and twine that he used to securely wrap the document, leaving a multistring loop on top that Kevin grasped with both claws.

            “Where to?” Draco asked, looking from the ready owl and package to Harry.

            Harry informed the owl of the destination and Kevin was off. Draco wrapped his arms back around Harry and led them upstairs to the nursery, where Leo and Teddy were playing happily in a playpen, Dromeda watching from the comfort of the rocking chair.

            Draco told his aunt of the good news regarding both the progress on starting the marriage contract process and that Malfoy Manor was back in Malfoy custody. “Leo and I are going to move as soon as possible; tomorrow probably. I’m going to start packing now,” he added, grabbing the snitch covered nappy bag and beginning to refill it with Leo’s things.

            A discussion of how wise moving back to Malfoy Manor was when they still hadn’t cleared the bunker on the property followed. Harry thought Draco should wait and didn’t want either Draco or Leo that close to the potential danger. Draco trusted his father and thought that if his father was back, then it was safe. Draco did, however, agree to send a missive off to his father asking whether it was safe for him and Leo to return. But that only made things worse for Harry, because Lucius quickly replied with an all clear to return. Narcissa would be back the next day and Draco was eager to rejoin his parents and move out of Dromeda’s the first chance he got.

 

* * *

 

 

            It took the Aurors the night to think on it, but by the next morning, one of the lower level Aurors came up with the idea of using a portrait of Salazar himself to speak the words in Parseltongue that would be needed to let them past. The only problem was acquiring a portrait of Salazar. Salazar Slytherin was a famous wizard who lived in the tenth century and that meant that his few surviving portraits were highly guarded and priceless. Gaining access to one for the mission would require an order from the Wizenagamot and signed by the Minister of Magic himself. That took time and would cause a significant delay.

            A pair of higher ups were off attempting to gain permission to attain the portrait, but the rest of the lot were crammed into the outer chamber, doing their best to process the room. By then Ron was back from his day off and out on the scene with Harry and the others.

            “Why do we even need the bloody bastard’s portrait?” Ron asked, picking up an old book on dark magic from one of the bookshelves and leafing through it. Harry was already doing the same with another similar book, checking to make sure there were no notes from Voldemort or slips of incriminating parchment tucked into the pages and that it was nothing more than an awful book.

            “Because I can’t speak Parseltongue anymore, remember?” Harry asked, not looking up from his task.

            “But I do. Well not really, but I know a few words. I could try using the same phrase I used to open the Chamber of Secrets during the final battle,” Ron suggested. He wasn’t a Parselmouth, but he’d heard what Harry had said to open the Chamber in second year and he’d been able to repeat it during the final battle. He was sure he could to do so again now.

            “Alright, give it a go,” Harry suggested, before turning to inform the others of what was happening. “Listen up everyone!” A hush fell quickly over the underground chamber, every ear waiting for what their brilliant savior had come up with. “Ron thinks he can get through the next barrier. Everyone please stand back.”

            The Aurors did as bade and Ron hissed a few words. The magically reinforced thick circular piece of steel covering the passage in the floor retracted itself into a recess in the surrounding stone, revealing a small dark vertical tunnel with ladder rungs clinging to the stone sides. All that was left to do was climb down twenty feet, crawl a few feet over to the newly revealed circular hole in the ceiling of the next chamber, and drop down into the next room.

            Ron led the way through the passage and soon had Harry and a group of Aurors in the inner living quarters. This room seemed to be a combination kitchen, dining room, and living room built for one. There was one cushy leather reclining chair set in a corner under a wall sconce with an end table on one side and bookshelf on the other. That was likely where the evilest wizard of their time had sat to read. There was a tiny table large enough for two that only had one chair, with the moldy dregs of a partially finished cup of tea left on top. The kitchen was small and filthy, indicating that this was one area the Malfoy house elves refused to clean. The rest of the room was taken up by a large pile of blankets that seemed to retain the coils of Nagini’s body long after the snake’s death.

            There were giant pieces of shed snake skin on the boarder of the blanket. Ron pick one of them up and made a face of distaste, and asked, “What kind of evil wizard leaves his snake’s skin lying all over the place?”

            The other Aurors followed Ron’s lead and they began to chatter about the various things Voldemort had left behind. Harry, on the other hand, concentrated on getting past the next barrier.

            This time the entrance to the next chamber was in the form of a door in a solid stone wall. It repelled the lot of them from approaching it, but let Harry through when he nicked a finger and presented his blood. Like the other rooms, this one too was perfectly rectangular, carved out of hard stone, with bare walls. At the same time, expensive antique treasures and trinkets were strewn about, interspersed with various dark and or illegal objects, but most of the room was taken up by one ginormous bed. The bed too retained the shape of coils on one side, indicating that the sick bastard had actually slept with his snake. There was a door to an unwarded loo on one side of the room and that was it; the grand total of Voldemort’s secret underground apartment. It wasn’t nearly what it was cracked up to be.

            Between Ron and Harry, they were through Voldemort’s wards long before the team who had gone off to find a portrait of Salazar had managed to gather the Wizenagamot. Word was sent informing the higher ups that they were through the wards and that there was no need for an antique portrait. Thus the bosses soon returned, bringing along Shacklebolt and Robards to boot. Harry and Ron were both given exuberant congratulations on a job well done and were a shoo-in for joint New Auror of the Year awards.

            The place reeked of Voldemort, decay coming on strong despite the amount of time the dark wizard had been dead. Being down there in what had been the evil git’s personal quarters made Harry feel ill. He begged off and went over to the Manor, where Draco, Narcissa, and Leo had already joined Lucius and settled in.

            Eager to welcome his boyfriend to his family home, Draco with Leo on his hip, gave Harry a tour of Malfoy Manor. It was a huge old house, three stories high across the entire span of the house, but five stories high in places. The ground floor contained the one large drawing room off of the entrance hall that took up the middle part of the floorplan. There was a wing off either side of the drawing room, an east wing and a west wing that were joined in the back by the north wing.

            Between the four wings, was a trapezoidal-shaped open air garden that was wider in the back than it was in the front, because the north wing was longer than the central wing and the east wing did not run parallel to the west. The garden was filled with exotic plants clearly suited to tropical climates. Draco explained that it was protected from the elements all year round by magical charms, creating a greenhouse environment for the plants to thrive.

            The north wing was Voldemort’s wing. The house was so large that the family themselves hadn’t had need of the extra space in the north wing for hundreds and hundreds of years, to the point that it was questionable that it was ever needed at all. Perhaps the north wing had been built onto an already overly large house knowing that it would never be needed. Or maybe it was intended from the beginning to hold soldiers during times of war, as it had done during this latest war. Voldemort himself hadn’t stayed in the north wing, preferring the isolation and protection of the bunker, but he had conducted business there and his troops of Death Eaters had gathered there, even staying the night whenever needed. That was where the Aurors has assumed Voldemort had lived and where they previously concentrated most of their efforts.

            Upon seeing the north wing, it was clear that it was large and well equipped enough that there was no reason for Voldemort and the Death Eaters to have ever taken over the main drawing room of the central wing. The north wing even had its own entrances, one as grand as the front, through which dignified witches and wizards could easily enter. The fact that Voldemort had insisted in the end on using the family’s personal drawing room and the main entrance to conduct his business was clearly a deliberate sign of disrespect toward the Malfoys, Lucius in particular.

            The west wing of the ground floor contained a lavish dining room and ballroom, with the elven kitchen and pantry directly underneath, perfect for entertaining large formal parties. The east wing was the business end of the compound, complete with a library, a potions laboratory, Lucius’ office, and a conference room. There was an elven workshop directly underneath, divided into rooms for making a number of elf-made items.

            Next Draco showed Harry the upper floors of the east wing, which his grandparents and distant Malfoy relations had inhabited. Grandmother Iona Malfoy, as well as Great Aunt Callirrhoe Malfoy Saxe-Coburg and her husband Great Uncle John Saxe-Coburg, were all still alive, but had moved out of the Manor when Voldemort returned. Grandmother Malfoy now lived in the Malfoy’s summer cottage on the south English shore, while his great aunt and uncle had moved in with their own children into the much smaller quarters of a reasonably sized house. Grandfather Abraxas Malfoy, however, had died of Dragon Pox and was buried in the Malfoy cemetery on the grounds of Malfoy Manor. Occasionally Lucius’ cousin’s family or one of Narcissa’s relations would come to visit and then, they too would be put up in guest rooms in the east wing.

            Draco had grown up with his parents on the upper floors of the west wing. Instead of occupying one room throughout his life like most people who lived in the same house their enter lives, he had been moved to a new room with each phase he went through. He never got to redecorate and make a room new and completely his own, but instead was made to maintain the rooms as near as possible to the way they had been for a century or more. The linens were changed, personal possessions and clothes added, and the occasional adjustment made to the décor, such as switching one portrait or painting for another, but he hadn’t had nearly the free reign as he had with the room in the Austrian cottage.

            First, as a newborn baby, Draco had occupied the nursery and his parents the adjacent suite for new parents. Then he’d been moved over to a room set up for a toddler, on the other side of his parents’ room. After that they’d all moved up a floor, Lucius and Narcissa moving into another large suite that lacked the connecting doors to the children’s rooms surrounding it. He’d lived in the room to the right of his parents first, as a young child, and then in the room to the left as an older child. At the age of thirteen, he’d been moved to a suite of his own located in a fourth floor tower above his parents’ suite. Finally, upon returning pregnant from Hogwarts after failing to kill Professor Dumbledore, he’d been moved into the new parent’s suite on the second floor. Leo had lived in the adjoining nursery, which was updated from when Draco was a baby only by the purchase of new linens and the items they’d been given at the baby shower.

            With progression of age, the Malfoy heir cycled through all of the many rooms of Malfoy Manor, from the second floor nursery in the west wing, to the grandparent quarters in the east wing, ending with the death bed infirmary in the central wing. Harry found the thought of it all very foreign, because it was as polar opposite to growing up in a cupboard under the stairs as one could get. Everything was clean and tidy, but that was about where the similarities to the house of Privet Drive ended. Malfoy Manor was all antique carved wooden furniture, marble and parquet floors, ancient tapestries, old wallpaper covered walls, and gilded portrait frames and molding. Draco hadn’t exaggerated when he’d said it fit in with Napoleon’s quarters in the Parisian Palace.

            By the time Draco ended the tour in his current room on the second floor with its adjoining nursery, his feet ached from all the walking and Harry’s arms were numb from carrying Leo for so long; Draco had passed the baby over after the north wing and Harry had carried him the rest of the way. Leo had fallen asleep due to boredom a quarter of the way through the house and was now lying in the first crib he’d ever slept in, in the nursery. They left the door separating their rooms open, as well as the curtains drawn back on the one-way magical window-portal that showed a clear view of the nursery, but appeared to be nothing but a mural painted wall from the nursery side.

            Draco sat down on his overly large bed, removed his loafers, and climbed under the covers to relax. Harry, unsure what to do, especially with regard to what was appropriate behavior in Draco’s bedroom, stood by the door to the nursery, gazing at a larger than life-sized portrait of Draco lying in bed holding a tiny black haired pink bundle with just enough of Leo’s features to be recognizable as their son. It was absolutely gorgeous and seemed to capture the love Draco felt and the unbridled potential of the new baby in a very touching way. A single tear fell down Harry’s cheek as he saw it, wishing that he’d been there to see it for himself and at the same time, feeling that he was seeing it now, through the moment Narcissa captured with her paintbrush. While Harry watched, the portrait baby scrunched his face up in a cry, causing the portrait Draco to cover them with a blanket and appear to nurse the newborn.

            “My mother painted it after Leo was born,” Draco said, before patting the top of the covers on the other side of the bed. “Come here. You can sit on my bed, just don’t come under my covers, or cross over to my side.”

            Harry nodded and did as told. He removed his boots and stretched out his legs above the covers, but continued to be captivated by the portrait. Every minute or so movement could be seen under the painted blanket.

            “That was when I fell in love with you,” Draco said, motioning towards the portrait with his chin.

            “It was?” Harry asked, still awed from the portrait and now from Draco’s confession too. He hadn’t imagined Draco’s feelings for him stemmed from that far back.

            “Yes. He just looked so much like you from the beginning. I loved him as soon as I knew for certain that he was inside me, but I secretly hoped he would come out looking like only me. I wanted him to be mine and only mine. Back then, I had no plans of sharing him with you. I know that sounds selfish of me, but I was selfish then and hadn’t considered what was best for him. When I saw him though, the similarity to you was obvious and I loved him even more. It was then that I began to wish you could know him too and hope that you would love him as much as I do.”

            “I do. I love him so much,” Harry admitted, passion evident in his voice.

            Now it was Draco’s turn to cry, silent tears of happiness falling down his smiling face. “You cannot know how much that means to me.” There was a silent pause for a minute as they both watched the painting pull the fussing baby out, turn him around, and reposition him under the blanket. “I wanted you to see him. I wanted you to be there with me. I wanted you to love him. I wanted to give him a normal life with a happy family. I wanted you and then wham,” Draco smacked his hands together loudly, “I loved you. I loved you, but I couldn’t have you, because of the war. With the news of the end of the war came the news that you were back with your Weasley, so I stayed and nursed my wounds. Eventually I decided I would take what I wanted, for Leo, even if you could never love me. I bucked up my courage and you know the rest.”

            “I’ll be eternally grateful you did,” Harry said honestly, before deciding a change in subject was in order. “So this is your room now?” he asked and Draco nodded. “And your parents will be moving back into the room above this one?”

            “No, they are grandparents now. They ought to move over to one of the suites in the east wing, but Father thinks they are too young to occupy the grandparents’ wing and Mother finds the idea of occupying my grandparents’ old room creepy. Plus my grandmother is still alive and she might move back. Mother didn’t object before, because she never saw either of the parent suites when occupied by my father’s parents. By the time she received her first tour of the Manor, Grandmother and Grandfather were already living in one of the tower suites. My parents have decided a suite in the central wing on the third floor suites them for the time being,” Draco answered.

            “Right.” Harry considered this and tried to calculate just how far away that meant Lucius and Narcissa were from Draco’s room. Each wing was as large as a house, so it was about the equivalent of being next door neighbors, except that the houses were joined. It wasn’t nearly as close quarters as when he’d been with Ginny and her parents at the Burrow, although it was still significantly closer to Lucius Malfoy than he wanted to live. “You want to live in this room here, while they live in that room there, then? After you marry, I mean.”

            Draco nodded, but added, “Or your place is good too. Grimmauld Place does need a proper renovation first though.”

            Harry gasped for breath at the implication. “Assuming you choose me, you mean?” he asked for clarification.

            “Assuming everything keeps going the way it has been going. I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to say to Dane…” Draco trailed off.

            “You already know then? You’re choosing me?” Harry whispered it, fearful that speaking too loudly might jinx it.

            Draco nodded, looking Harry in the eyes and smiling, “Of course.”

            “But it hasn’t been two months. It’s barely been two weeks.” Harry hated himself for protesting, because this was what he so desperately wanted, but he had to make sure.

            “It’s been long enough to know that you are the one I want to live the rest of my life with.”

            Draco leaned over then, towards Harry, and Harry leaned in too, closing the distance between them and pressing their lips together. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco, who melted into the embrace and deepened the kiss.

            The moment, however, was ruined by the sudden appearance of an elf. “Master Draco is not to be in bed with the Potter, sir. Master Lucius, sir, is telling Krispy not to let any hanky-panky be going on in his house.” Krispy had a large burn scar on his face and a voice as stern as a headmaster. He was an instant mood killer.

            Draco pulled back, panting for breath. A few moments later when the elf had yet to budge, he decided to make introductions. “Harry, this is Krispy, Dipsy’s spouse. Now before you go ratting me out to Granger, you need to know that he came to us with that burn on his face. We traded elves with the Crabbe family, to avoid inbreeding. It’s the Crabbes Granger needs to go after.”

            “And who changed his name to Krispy after he was burned?” Harry asked, one eyebrow raised.

            “Krispy did. Krispy is an honorable name for an elf, sir,” Krispy answered. “Johnnie is not.”

            “We already had my Great Uncle John living here, so having an elf named Johnnie didn’t mesh well, but we didn’t tell him he had to change his name. That was his idea and we let our elves choose what they wish to be called,” Draco explained.

            Harry shook his head in exasperation that an elf with a real name like Johnnie would decide to change it to something like Krispy, in honor of the elf’s disfigured face.

            “Master Draco, sir, is still being improper with the Potter spawn, sir. Shall Krispy fetch Master Lucius, sir?” Krispy asked, since Harry and Draco were still lying on the same bed, despite the distance that had crept in between them.

            “Can you conjure a chair, Harry?” Draco asked and Harry answered in the affirmative.

            After all of the walking around the Manor, Harry went with a recliner. He leaned back into plush cushions, put his feet up, and asked, “Is this better Krispy?”

            “Much, sir.”

            Then the elf disappeared with a loud crack, leaving Harry and Draco alone once more.

            “I take it he will come back the moment I make another move,” Harry observed.

            “One of the many benefits of excess elves,” Draco agreed sarcastically, with a nod. “On the other hand, they also are great for fetching tea or supper. Are you hungry?”

            “Yeah, but after the day I’ve had, I don’t much feel like making the trek to the dining room.”

            Harry had already lost track of the floorplan of the house and was unaware of the fact that they were actually right over the dining room; a few steps down the hall was a staircase that let out right in front of it. Draco didn’t want to leave Leo and with the way his feet ached from the tour, he didn’t want to make the minuscule trek down the stairs either.

            “My thoughts exactly; we’ll eat in here. Krispy!”

            Krispy appeared instantly and Draco ordered meat and cheese sandwiches, melon and orange slices, along with a salad and diner rolls, explaining to Harry that they were all fast foods for elves to prepare. Then Krispy was off with an excited, “Right away Master Draco, sir!”

            They were silent for a moment before a table with chairs set for two appeared in front of Draco’s walk-in closet. The room was large, but so was the recliner Harry had conjured, which was abutting one of the chairs. A second later a breadbasket with a side of butter materialized on the table. Draco rose immediately, took the seat opposite Harry’s recliner, and helped himself to a hot roll, buttering it liberally.

            When Harry got up, he vanished the recliner and took the seat opposite Draco. Knowing that sandwiches were coming, he didn’t much fancy having a roll of bread. He folded his hands in his lap and said, “I’m glad you got your family home back.”

            Draco swallowed and washed his bite down with a conjured glass of water, before replying, “Me too. Thank you for that, by the way. I meant to thank you before, but I’m not very good at it. It’s not a skill my father thought necessary for a Malfoy, but I am very grateful. I would rather be back with you at Grimmauld, but it feels so good to be home too. I’ve always loved this place and it just fits me right, you know? Like I belong here.”

            Harry couldn’t imagine living in a giant Manor house like this one, but he could see Draco in it. Since Draco seemed to want to move back in with him if they married, instead of wanting him to move in here permanently, it didn’t bother him. Draco and Leo could spend time here with Narcissa and come home to him at Grimmauld Place and he was fine with that. He nodded and said, “You’re welcome. I’m happy you’re home.”

            “I’m so happy,” Draco replied with a giant smile, reaching out for Harry’s hand across the table just as the salads appeared on the table.

            Harry reached out with his left hand to hold Draco’s as he picked up his salad fork with his right and began to eat. They ate their salads in silence, exchanging smiles and flirty touches.

            Draco finished first and extracted his hand from Harry’s, in order to wipe his face with a cloth napkin. “Thank you for bringing my father home, by the way. He can irritate the shite out of me, but he is my father and I don’t want him in prison. My mother wouldn’t survive it. Having her back home and only a floo away is such a relief and that couldn’t have happened without you arranging Father’s freedom. It means a lot to me that you did that for me.” As he spoke, he looked into Harry’s eyes and tried to convey how much he meant it.

            Harry hadn’t set out to free Lucius; it had sort of landed on him when Kingsley called him into the Minister’s office two days ago. As such, he didn’t feel right taking all of the credit for it. “It was Kingsley’s idea,” he admitted with a shrug.

            “But it was you who executed Kingsley’s idea. You took the amnesty papers to Austria and brought my father back and for that I’m grateful. Knowing that he is safe takes a weight off of me, because now I don’t have to worry so much about Mother,” Draco replied.

            “You really love her, don’t you?” Harry asked, beginning to grasp how strong the bond was between Draco and Narcissa.

            “Yes. She’s my mother. Eighteen years of caring and unconditional love will do that to a child. I wish you could’ve had a mother too; I hate that you were robbed of that, because having a mother is probably the best thing I’ve ever had and as a Malfoy, I’ve had almost everything. I’d give up this house and the galleons in an instant if it meant keeping Mother.”

            Something jived between the way Draco doted on Leo and the way the wizard felt about Narcissa. “You’re trying to be that for Leo, aren’t you?” Harry asked.

            Draco nodded. “I could never be as wonderful as Mother. I know I’m not a witch and it’s not the same, but Leo needs a mother and I’d rather be like my mother than my father.” He chuckled self-deprecatingly. “If you had told me I’d feel that way back when I was eleven, I would’ve called you crazy and tried to hit you. For a long time I idolized him and didn’t realize that my mother was the one who really deserved that idolization.”

            While Draco spoke, the salad plates disappeared and were replaced by two plates laden with large sandwiches and an equally large pile of sliced fruit. Harry took an orange slice and finished it before Draco finished talking. Draco, on the other hand, had picked up his knife and fork while speaking and cut his sandwich into fourths.

            “But then you grew up and that’s a good thing,” Harry said, remembering how horribly snobbish Draco had been when they’d met. He could never love that Draco, but this one he couldn’t live without. In some ways Draco was still the same, as evidenced by the prissy way the wizard had picked up his sliver of sandwich and was now eating it. “And you’re doing a wonderful job with Leo. With a father like you, he doesn’t need a mother. He has two parents who love him and that is enough. He can get the feminine influence from your mum and Dromeda.”

            Draco lowered his sandwich for a moment and swallowed, before adding, “Molly Weasley and Hermione Granger too.”

            Harry nodded, by that time his mouth stuffed with about a quarter of the sandwich attempting to engulf it in one go, Ron style. He knew his table manners were poor and after seeing the way Draco made sure not to speak with anything in the mouth, he wasn’t about to do so either. Instead he nodded eagerly, pleased that Draco would think of his friend and adopted mother like that. Draco was thoughtful when it came to family and that was an unexpected bonus. Although now that he thought about it, Draco had been showing signs of thoughtfulness with family all summer. He was beginning to think that Draco had always had this thoughtful side and that it was reserved specifically for family. The wizard could still be a prick to outsiders, but Harry was an insider now and this was the side of Draco he loved and could picture spending the rest of his life with.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delayed posting, but I’ve been super busy with work. Dinner with the Weasleys will be the next chapter for sure; I’ve got it all planned out. 
> 
> As far as names go, I didn’t get many suggestions for names, but here they are: Phoebe (a Jovian moon), Amaryllis (a flower with similarities to both lilies and Narcissuses, so it honors both grandmothers), Siria (means 'to shine', so it would honor Lucius, whose name means "light", and sounds like Sirius), and Amaris (means "child of the moon"). Please leave a review letting me know your favorite. The name with the most votes will be the middle name…Unless I decide not to use Lily, which would mean the winner will be the first name and the runner up will be the middle


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you are wondering which middle name won: they all lost, due to lack of response. Lily just won’t be getting a middle name.

            Late that Sunday morning, Harry apparated to just outside the gate of Malfoy Manor. Since Lucius was back in charge of the sprawling house, the wards were once again up and in full force, excluding apparition within the gate to himself, Draco, and Narcissa. The closest Harry and any other visitors, including the Aurors still working on the northern side of the forest, could get with magic was the gate. The Aurors were peeved to realize the change, because the investigation of the bunker meant that they never officially surrendered access to the rest of the house. That led to Lieutenant Stevenson himself knocking on the gate. Lucius had shown his dominance over the situation by making the Lieutenant wait at said gate for the better part of an hour before denying permission to enter. The bunker was outside the gate, so there was no reason for the Aurors to need entry. That was the end of it as far as the Lord of the Manor was concerned.

            Lucky for Harry, he was on the very short list of witches and wizards the gate recognized as legitimate guests and let through. All he had to do was walk through the barrier as if it didn’t exist and it dissolved around him, letting him pass. Then there was the long walk up to the door, but that recognized him too and opened for him of its own volition.

            A gnarled old female elf whose name Harry couldn’t remember was standing in the entryway, outstretched arm pointing him in the direction of the main drawing room. “Masters Draco and Leo are waiting for Harry Potter, sir.” Harry had seen the elf before and been told her name, but he’d been introduced to far too many Malfoy elves in the past week to place her. With the return of the family, the elves had swarmed up from their underground lair in numbers large enough to service Hogwarts.

            “Thanks, erm?” Harry hoped she’d supply her name.

            “Peggy, sir,” she answered. “Peggy is a proper house elf, sir. There is no need to be thanking Peggy, sir.”’

            “Right, sorry.”

            “There is no need to be apologizing to proper house elves, sir,” Peggy corrected sternly.

            Harry shook his head in exasperation. There really was no being nice to some elves. “I’ll just go then.” He lowered his head, keeping his eyes on the serpent themed black, silver, and green rug leading into the drawing room. It wasn’t quite a snake, nor was it a dragon; it was more like some type of mythological aquatic reptile.

            The double doors of the drawing room silently opened themselves for Harry, revealing Draco and Leo. Sitting on a settee, Draco had Leo standing on his lap, a little hand in each larger hand. There was music coming from an old gramophone and Draco was encouraging Leo to bounce along with it. In an effort to blend into the lion’s den they were planning to enter shortly, Draco was dressed in plain burgundy robes and Leo wore his mustard yellow lion t-shirt with muggle jeans and trainers.

            Harry noticed none of that, his eyes drawn exclusively to the spiraling braids in Leo’s black hair. His mouth hung open for several seconds before he blurted out, “I thought you weren’t seeing Dane anymore.”

            It was only then that Draco noticed Harry had arrived. “PaPa! Look Leo, PaPa is finally here for us!” Draco exclaimed, turning Leo around in his arms to see, before processing what Harry said. “I’m not. Why would you say something like that? I told you the other day I broke the news to him.”

            “But Leo’s hair. You must’ve seen one of them,” Harry replied at the same time that Leo let out an excited yet unintelligible string of babbles. “Oh, hi Leo, Papa missed you too.”

            Harry stepped forward to take the baby from Draco, but Draco twisted, pulling Leo back and letting a scowl cross his face. “For your information, I did Leo’s hair myself. What, _precisely_ , do you mean by _one of them_?”

            “The Ndiayes, of course. What do you mean you did it yourself? I thought you quit those lessons before you learned to do boys.”

            “Why would I quit? I never said I was going to. I thought that we were agreed that neither one of us enjoy torturing our son with a comb and this is the best way we’ve found so far to manage this hair you’ve given him.”

            “What’s wrong with letting it stay natural?” Harry self-consciously tugged on his own wild-locks.

            “I can’t tell if rats have been nesting in it, for one. For two, it traps particles of food and I’m worried it will smell if I leave it.” Draco’s tone was still indignant.

            Harry rolled his eyes.

            Draco sighed. “But if it bothers you so much, I guess we can go with the slumming it look. You have managed to make it the latest fad, after all.” After he spoke, he waved his wand and cast the unbraiding spell, leaving Leo’s hair wavy and sticking up like it had mice in it. It wasn’t quite Harry’s rat’s nest look, but it was close enough. The only way to truly return it to its natural state was to wash it again.

            “Er thanks. So, erm, _are_ you still seeing the Ndiayes?” Harry asked awkwardly, eyes darting to Draco’s face and then darting back away. He felt guilty about wanting to keep Draco and Leo away from them, but he wanted his family for his own and he thought he was over having to share.

            “Yes. We switched to meeting at Mother Morowa’s house earlier in the day, due to the change in our living situation, but other than that, we’ve tried to keep our schedule as consistent as possible. Consistency is important for babies. We still go to the reading group at the library and we’ve been to see my friends Blaise, Theo, Daphne, and Regan since moving out of your house. Do you have a problem with any of that?”

            “Are you sure your friends are safe?”

            “Not all of them, but those four are. I had them vetted and none of them were ever really into the Dark Lord in the first place. They have ties, but less than I had, and they all seem to be alright with the way things ended.” Concern for Leo’s safety had been Draco’s main issue with regards to reconnecting with his friends, but those four had passed the test. As far as anyone could tell, they were safe. He was tired of feeling isolated and wanted his own friends in his life again.

            “Good. As far as Dane’s family, I know the Ndiayes are safe, but I thought you were going to cut ties with them when you ended things…” Harry broke off.

            “Are you going to break ties with Minister Shacklebolt?” Draco asked pointedly, raising one eyebrow.

            “No…”

            “He _is_ Dane’s uncle. What about Angelina Johnson and Seamus Finnegan. How close to Dane do you consider off limits? That might make for a sticky situation, because I am under the impression that we will be seeing Angelina today. She is coming with her Weasley, isn’t she?” Draco asked in an inquisitive tone, not yet implying the hypocrisy he was getting at.

            “She is. Angelina and Seamus are alright, because they’re my friends, just not Dane’s mum and sisters.”

            “Why, exactly, are they off limits? I can assure you that I never for a moment harbored _any_ thoughts of a sexual nature towards them.” Draco made a disgusted look, the thought of being with a witch being repulsive to him.

            “Because they’re Dane’s family! You should’ve stopped seeing them when you stopped seeing him.”

            Draco’s brow furrowed, trying to figure Harry out. He was fairly certain this was an irrational bout of jealousy and hoped it would go away on its own if he ignored it. He glanced to the grandfather clock and noticed the time. “We’re late,” he said, pulling Leo back from climbing off the back of the settee and standing up with the baby. “Shall we go?”

            Harry sighed in relief, assuming he’d won that argument. “Yes, of course. Molly said to floo into the living room, because of Leo.”

            Several Weasleys had raised safety concerns about allowing a direct connection between the Burrow and Malfoy Manor, home to their mortal enemy Lucius Malfoy, but Molly had overruled them for the day at least. Draco had offered assurances that as Harry’s surrogate family, the Weasleys were now off-limits to his father, so Harry wasn’t concerned. And for once, Lucius didn’t seem up to anything, besides restoring the Malfoy family’s good name by giving various pro-muggle interviews and publically donating money to benefit war orphans.

            Draco nodded and passed Leo over to Harry for the floo trip. He let Harry and Leo go first, so that he wouldn’t be alone in the Weasley den for a moment. Draco stepped out of the Weasley’s fireplace to see Harry passing the baby over to Molly Weasley. Harry then wrapped his arm around Draco and together they followed Molly out of the house to the usual folding table set up on the lawn.

            The table was set with stasis charms keeping the food warm and all of the Weasleys already seated, clearly waiting on the late trio. That saved Draco from much pre-meal chatter. He and Harry evaded a few questions regarding why they were late, but mostly they ate. The meal was a feast heavy enough to be a dinner, despite the fact that the roast and all of the trimmings were served at lunch time. Draco stood out for not being able to scarf down his entirely too large portion, unlike Harry and the rest of the family. But then Draco had Leo to feed, letting the growing baby reach for food off of his plate, mashing it with a spell, and then offering it to their son. Leo had never tolerated potatoes before, but he couldn’t get enough of Molly’s mash today.

            Afterwards they retired to the Weasley living room, cramming into a space that was too small for the large family. They were missing several members, namely Ginny, Hermione, Percy’s girlfriend, and Charlie, so it wasn’t as tight as it could sometimes be. Angelina had commandeered Leo, cooing eagerly over the baby and letting him lead her around the room, but not letting him mouth any of the great many things he grabbed hold of.

            Draco took the only open seat he saw available, which happened to be on Harry’s lap. He didn’t set the precedent in that respect, because Angelina had spent some time on George’s lap earlier and Fleur practically never left Bill’s.

            George, Molly, and Ron were all used to Draco being around and they didn’t miss a beat. Bill and Fleur were the ambivalent members of the gathering, curious but not on either side. Neither Percy and Arthur, however, were ready to trust a Malfoy, not even one Harry was courting and shared a child with. Percy and Arthur kept looking at Draco suspiciously and then exchanging suspicious looks with each other.

            Draco did not miss the looks coming his way from the Weasley patriarch and the pretentious Weasley son. From his spot on Harry’s lap, he wiggled his bum around, enjoying the raised eyebrows that produced in his audience. Then he twisted at the waist and wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck, facing his boyfriend. Being a smidgeon taller than Harry and on top of the wizard, he was in the perfect position to run his fingers through that mop of messy black hair. He waited until both of the suspicious Weasleys were staring and had a clear view, before he separated out a single strand of hair and yanked.

            Harry cringed and exclaimed, “Ow,” one hand going to his scalp. He turned from the conversation he’d been having with George to see Draco slip something into a pocket in the burgundy robes. It was only then that he noticed the twin furrowed brows of Arthur and Percy turning into angry expressions.

            Arthur Weasley stood immediately. “Harry, a word,” he requested sternly, glancing from Harry, to Draco, and back to Harry.  
            “What did you do?” Harry whispered into Draco’s ear.

            “Just what they were waiting for me to do,” Draco answered also in a whisper, pulling out the single black hair from his pocket. When Harry grabbed for it, Draco pulled it away, before deliberately tucking it back in his pocket.

            “You could have taken a hair a millions times over. Why are you doing it now?” Harry asked another, this time loud enough for everyone to hear, since everyone was straining to listen anyway.

            “Because Peter and his father were giving me the evil eye and daring me to pull something, so I pulled something,” Draco explained, a mischievous grin on his face.

            “Peter!?!” George exclaimed, before slapping his knee and laughing hysterically. “Draco thinks his name is Peter?”

            Harry, Ron, Angelina, and Bill joined in the laughter. Molly looked on, seeming to be undecided who to chastise first, although from the way she looked at Arthur, her husband was top on the list.

            Fleur seemed confused. “What eez funnee, Bill?” she asked.  
            “Draco Malfoy cannot be bothered to learn our names, sweetheart, that’s what,” Bill explained into Fleur’s ear, but loud enough that it carried in the small room.

            “No, Harry told me that that one’s name is Peter. I know the rest of you: Ronald, Molly, George, William, Fleur, and Arthur Weasley,” Draco replied, looking at each Weasley as he said their names, before looking back to Harry questioningly.

            “Don’t worry your pretty head about it dear, you can call him Peter. He looks like a Peter. It fits him, don’t you think George?”

            “Oh yeah,” George nodded eagerly, “Peter the Prick, rhymes with git. Peter Peter pumpkin eater. Mum should’ve named him Peter in the first place.”

            “You _told_ him my name was _Peter_?” Percy asked, raising an accusatory finger in Harry’s direction.

            Leo, from Angelina’s arms, raised an accusatory finger right back at Percy, gave his best Malfoy scowl, and gibbered angrily.

            “You tell him Leo,” Ron encouraged. “Ah this is priceless: the baby is the one to tell Percy off. You’re clearly doing a great job with that one, Draco. Keep up the good work, mate.”

            “Thanks.” Draco nodded.

            “Harry, did you tell Draco here that Percy’s name is Peter?” Molly asked sternly, stepping into the mayhem.

            “No, I told him to _call_ Percy Peter. There’s a difference,” Harry answered with a smirk. He quickly wiped that smirk off of his face at the look Molly gave him in return. “Ah, sorry Molly.”

            “So, should I call the pretentious one Peter or Percy?” Draco asked confused.

            Bill, George, and Ron all let out loud guffaws.

            “Neither. Stick to referring to him as the pretentious one. That describes him perfectly,” Bill said, giving his brother a playful nudge to the shoulder.

            “Bill!” Molly turned on her oldest.

            Bill raised both hands in surrender, still chuckling. “Sorry Mum.”

            “I agree with Bill; there’s no ambiguity with a title like that,” George seconded, only to have Molly switch the focus of her glare to him.

            “Let’s get back to what’s important here, shall we, you lot?” Arthur said taking charge of the situation. “Draco just stole a hair from Harry. That is how he made Leo, so now he could saddle Harry with any number of children without Harry’s permission. Harry, you need to get that hair back.”

            “Draco, what do you say you give me the hair now and I promise to give you a proper sample of the real thing as soon as we get out of here,” Harry said to Draco, but glancing at Arthur, to make it clear that Draco having his babies was not something he had a problem with. Plus it helped that he was entirely certain that this was nothing more than Draco acting out in retaliation for the way Arthur and Percy had been silently accusing Draco.

            Draco nodded silently, ducking his face into Harry’s neck to hide the blush that had erupted on his cheeks. He was embarrassed to be blushing over Harry’s comment in front of all of the Weasleys, but what Harry was proposing was much further than they had yet to go sexually. It certainly didn’t help that Krispy was there blocking them at Malfoy Manor and Leo was in the middle of them most of the time they were together at Grimmauld Place. The pair were effective birth control.

            “I’ll babysit,” Angelina offered cheerfully.

            “Draco, can we step outside for a moment. I would like a word,” Arthur said, looking like he was about to whip out a lecture.

            “No Arthur, if you have anything to say, you can say it to me,” Harry said, shifting Draco out from under him as he stood, so that Draco was now on the chair.

            Arthur nodded curtly and left the room, Harry following.

            Draco stared down at his hands in his lap, waiting for the sound of the door to swing close, before saying, “Thank you Angelina, but I cannot accept. My father is barely tolerating this relationship as it is. I cannot have something like that getting back to him.” Not that he didn’t want to, because he did, but he was so close to everything working out the way he wanted. With the unexpected news he was already planning on saddling his father with upon his return home tonight, he couldn’t risk it.

            “At least one of you lot has some sense,” Molly said and then started in on her children in turn, explaining exactly how disappointed she was in each of them and what for.

            Meanwhile Arthur walked Harry clear over to the chicken coop, before turning around to face the younger wizard. “Harry, you need to be careful around him! Use a bit of discretion, will you? You may be all hot and bothered today, but someday you’ll come to regret giving him this much power over you. Don’t you think one baby without your permission is enough?”

            “But I did give Draco my permission for Leo,” Harry retorted, not backing down. “After the fact, but give it I did. I have no problem with him using me to make all of the little Malfoy babies he wants. Furthermore, we already talked about this and are going to wait until after the marriage before having another. He only took my hair to get at you for treating him like a criminal in your home. Need I remind you that Molly invited him here? Has been for months. Here I was telling him he had nothing to worry about, but then you and Percy ruin it.”

            Arthur looked taken aback, as if he were a scolded schoolboy. “Sorry Harry. I have a bit of negative history with the Malfoys…” he muttered, trailing off at the end.

            “With Lucius Malfoy. Draco is not his father and failed miserably at following in Lucius’ footsteps,” Harry corrected.

            Arthur nodded. There were things Draco himself had done, but they were minor in compassion to the faults of the father. “Still Harry, I urge you not to go through with your plans on account of me. I will apologize to Draco.”

            “What bodily samples I give Draco are between him and me and no one else. I’m an adult now and I can make my own decisions.”

            “Merlin knows you’ve certainly earned it. Alright, fair point; I will keep my nose out of it, if you wish.”

            “Thanks Arthur. Most of the time I do appreciate you looking out for me like a father, just not when it comes to this.”

            Arthur and Harry hugged then, before going back inside. Molly was done with her scolding and was now speaking jovially with Draco, Angelina, and Fleur. Leo had migrated to Fleur’s arms. He had a handful of long blond hair, which he was alternating between pulling and chewing, his eyelids drooping as naptime approached and he began to fall asleep.

            “Oi, Harry! Come over here, will you?” Draco asked, motioning Harry over with an arm.

            “Er, what’s going on?” Harry asked, taking note of the fact that all of the blokes had cleared off to the kitchen to clean up.

            Arthur followed Harry back into the house and over to Draco. He cleared his throat and said, “Sorry to interrupt, but I owe Draco here an apology. What goes on between you and my son,” here Arthur clasped Harry’s shoulder, to indicate which son he meant, “is not my decision to make. I am ashamed of my earlier actions and want you to know that you are welcome in our home. What do you say we start over?” Arthur offered his hand out to shake and Draco took it.

            Draco gripped Arthur’s hand firmly, looking the Weasley patriarch in the eye as he shook. “I’m not playing at some scheme by being with Harry. I love him,” he said firmly, wanting Harry’s surrogate father to know this.

            Arthur nodded and let go of Draco’s hand. “I’ll just, erm, go help in the kitchen,” he said. He then headed straight to the kitchen, to join the other Weasley men.

            Harry hugged Draco, pleased that his boyfriend was making such an effort with his family. “Thank you,” he whispered into Draco’s ear, before placing a kiss under said ear, on Draco’s neck. Draco turned into the kiss and found Harry’s lips with his own, but kept it short, turning his head back to look at Molly, Angelina, and Fleur.

            “You’re welcome.” The first was whispered to Harry, but the next Draco asked in a normal tone, directed to the entire group. “I was just talking to Molly about the wedding. Have you by any chance asked her about what we talked about before?”

            “Er no, I haven’t gotten a chance,” Harry admitted rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

            “Well this is your chance. Ask her yourself now before I spoil it and ask her for you,” Draco replied.

            “Um, Molly, er, would you help us…sort of plan the, ah, wedding?” Harry asked nervously.

            “You’re engaged already?” Angelina gasped, her hands darting to cover the surprised expression plastered on her face.

            “No, not yet. Not until now that is,” Draco said, pulling a shiny metal ring out of his pocket and dropping to his knees in front of Harry. It was a man’s platinum wedding band, thick and in the shape of the serpent from the Malfoy Crest, the head raised up out of the center of the ring. Judging from the patina and ware, it was old. The only stones were the two green emeralds dotting the eyes, which Harry found far more appealing than the large stone Dane had given to Draco. It had been in the Malfoy family for ages and had last belonged to Draco’s great grandfather.

            Harry gasped in shocked surprise. He was supposed to ask Draco and they weren’t even ready for it yet, not to mention that the Weasley’s living room was the _last_ place he expected to become engaged to Draco. When he thought about how he would ask Draco the same question, all out extravagance seemed the obvious choice. He never would have dared do it here at the Burrow. His hands unconsciously rose to cover his mouth, which was gaping open in his speechless state. His expression wasn’t all that different from the one Angelina wore.

            Draco looked up into Harry’s eyes from his kneeling position. “Harry, I know that we have barely begun the process of putting together the marriage contract, but I do not need a contract to tell me what my heart already knows. I love you, Harry James Potter. You are the only one I want to be with now, in the future, and forever. If you would do me the honor of accepting this ring, I vow to love, honor, and cherish you for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?” Draco asked, holding out the ring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliff hanger, but this chapter with the Weasleys was getting really long. The next chapter will have Harry’s answer. How do you think the Weasleys will react?  
> Please review!


	40. Chapter 40

From Last Chapter:

 

            “No, not yet. Not until now that is,” Draco said, pulling a shiny metal ring out of his pocket and dropping to his knees in front of Harry.

            Harry gasped in shocked surprise. His hands unconsciously rose to cover his mouth, which was gaping open in his speechless state.

            “Harry, I know that we have barely begun the process of putting together the marriage contract, but I do not need a contract to tell me what my heart already knows. I love you, Harry James Potter. You are the only one I want to be with now, in the future, and forever. If you would do me the honor of accepting this ring, I vow to love, honor, and cherish you for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?” Draco asked, holding out the ring.

 

* * *

 

            Harry nodded and managed a breathy, “Yes,” holding out his left hand and allowing Draco to slip the ring onto the proper finger.

            Draco rose, wrapping his arms around Harry and placing a soft kiss on Harry’s lips. Harry tried to deepen it, but Draco pulled back, wary of their audience. It was one thing to propose marriage in the Weasley den and quite another to loose oneself in a passionate snog. The make-out session would have to wait until later.

            “But I’m supposed to ask you,” Harry said, finally managing to process some the thoughts swirling around his head.

            “You still will. I think I’ve set the bar pretty high with my proposal; I expect yours to be much grander,” Draco replied with a smirk.

            Harry smiled back. He shook his head to clear it and then laughed. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?”

            “Yes,” Draco answered a bit full of himself, smiling widely. He was fairly certain he’d just given Harry the proposal of Harry’s dreams. That was why he’d chosen here and now; not because this place meant something to him, but because it meant something to Harry. Plus this was where Harry had apparently proposed to Ginny and the thought of overwriting that unfortunate mistake with the memory of this proposal was impossible for Draco to resist.

            Harry leaned in and they shared a few short kisses, their lips coming together and pulling apart again. Draco’s slight height advantage was just enough to aid his attempt to take control by raising his lips. Draco intended his lips to be out of Harry’s reach and to end this before it got out of hand, but Harry followed after, first angling his head up and then going onto his tiptoes to keep their lips from breaking contact. Finally Draco turned his head, clearly signifying that he was uncomfortable taking things any further in front of their current audience. Not only were the female members of the Weasley family mere feet away, but all of the male Weasleys were now jockeying for position at the kitchen doorway, trying to watch what was happening too.

            “What will we tell your father? About the contract?” Harry asked, resigning himself to the limits of contact afforded to him by their arms around each other.

            “The contract will come quickly now. We are serious about wanting to be together and I’m tired of the delays. This is just the step to light a fire under my father and encourage a much speedier progression. I’ve been through the process once before, and my mother is eager to get started. If you commit to spending a few good sessions with your solicitor hammering out your end of the contract, we can move forward.”

            Harry hadn’t perceived any delays. To his mind, their relationship was progressing quickly; any quicker and it would be a whirlwind. With the promise of sex being held out until the wedding night, a whirlwind was not necessarily a bad thing. “If you’re sure. I just want it to work out and if you can make it happen sooner, then all the better.” If it happened quickly enough, he might just get out of coming up with an outrageously extravagant way to propose to Draco. If not, he could at least use the lack of time as an excuse for any short-comings, like his natural ineloquence with sentimental mush.

            “I’m sure,” Draco answered looking Harry in the eyes, before turning to face Molly Weasley again. “The only problems are that I stink at wedding planning, Harry here has _horrible_ tastes, and my mother insists she needs feedback. So will you, Molly, do us the favor of helping to plan our wedding and standing up for Harry in place of his birth mother?” Draco’s speech was far more eloquent than Harry had ever managed.

            “Of course dear!” Molly said, engulfing the pair of them into her arms for an enthusiastic hug. “Oh, let me be the first to congratulate you two! I’m just so happy to see everything working out! Arthur and I have already said we would fulfill the role of his parents and if you need help planning the wedding too, then I’m only too glad to help!”

            “Thanks Molly,” Harry replied, face turned away from Molly’s ample bosom to smile at Draco.

            Ron was the first of the wizards to break free of the kitchen doorway in order to stand in line behind his mother to hug and congratulate his friend. George was second, followed by Bill. Fleur stood next to her husband, but neglected to hug the happy couple, on account that Leo was still sleeping peacefully on her shoulder. Angelina hugged them both. Arthur hugged Harry and offered Draco a handshake. Percy grudgingly brought up the rear with a handshake, a sour expression on his face. But once that was over and the talk turned back to wedding planning, the Weasley wizards made themselves scarce in the kitchen again.

            “We could ‘elp too,” Fleur offered on part of herself and Angelina.

            “Um, I’m still getting used to the switch, Draco. I’m glad you’ll still be part of the family; for me you’re just moving from one side of the family to the other, but this _is_ a bit soon. I don’t have a problem with it per se, I think I just need a bit more time to wrap my head around the idea before I commit to helping,” Angelina said.

            “So what precisely do you have in mind for your wedding Draco?” Molly asked.

            “I would prefer a closed ceremony with only the bare minimum of people involved,” Draco started and Harry seconded that opinion with an eager nod. “Unfortunately, my mother will not have it. She wants to invite the entire magical world and turn it into the event of the century. There is no stopping her, but if at all possible we would like help reigning her in.”

            “Alright, I can give it a go. Have you chosen a theme?”

            “No,” Draco answered.

            “I’ve suggested a bunch of them, but Draco seems to think they are all tacky,” Harry offered. He was no more into this wedding planning business than Draco, but he’d at least offered Narcissa a few ideas.

            “They _are_ all tacky. First of all, I don’t want a Hogwarts wedding. We aren’t in school, so why should our wedding hall look like we are?” Draco asked rhetorically. “No red and gold, green and silver, black and yellow, or blue and bronze.”

            “You did admit the other day that you like that azure blue with bronze, just not the Ravenclaw blue,” Harry countered.

            “Well yes, azure, aqua, or even a nice teal are all better, but you didn’t suggest any of those. Might I remind you that your suggestions were to combine our house colors and put green and red together, like it’s Christmas, or gold and silver together and make everything metallic. Then there was your Quidditch theme suggestion,” Draco drawled.

            “Quidditch is something you both have in common. That one isn’t half bad,” Angelina put in.

            “No, no sports themes, no animal themes, including dragons, no over-the-top cutesy or mushy girly stuff either. What’s wrong with simple elegance? Just pick a color, find the right flowers, and leave it at that. No lace, no frills, and especially no _doilies_ ,” Draco rebutted. The word doilies was said as if it was a bad word.

            “Your mum seems to think there is a lot more to it than that, like tablecloths and napkins and cakes and dress robes,” Harry countered.

            “My mother needs a firm hand to help keep this thing scaled back. Remember when I said she only had one flaw, Harry?” Draco asked, looking Harry in the eyes again. Harry nodded. “I think she is beginning to develop a second. Or maybe she already had it and it was dormant all of these years, waiting for a wedding to reactivate it.”

            “Bill and I ‘ad our weddeng right ‘ere and eet wasz absolutely lovely. Molly eez wondeeful with ze weddengz,” Fleur said, making her mother-in-law beam at the unexpected complement.

            “Then we have come to the right witch,” Draco concluded.

            “I will have to contact Narcissa directly. I can’t guarantee any miracles boys,” Molly warned, still beaming.

            They talked more about wedding ideas and when they were thinking about having the ceremony. Both wizards were positive that this was what they wanted and because their sex-life was being hampered by the fact that they were not married yet, they wanted to go through with it as soon as possible. Realistically, two weeks was the absolute soonest, a month at the latest. That made for a mid-September to early-October timeline. It was cutting the time short, which meant that Narcissa was right to worry and want to start as soon as possible. But deep down both wizards were hoping that the time limit would also limit the guest list and the scope of the event, forcing Narcissa to keep it a moderate size, instead of going all out.

            They stayed at the Burrow hanging out with the Weasleys and talking weddings until Leo finished his afternoon nap. After that, Harry and Draco took their son to Grimmauld Place, Draco letting Harry watch as Leo nursed.

            “This little guy sure manages to kill the mood, even when he’s not doing anything. I’m afraid you are going to have to wait for that sample I promised you,” Harry said.

            “I don’t want it. I want to wait for our wedding night and for you to put a little girl in me,” Draco admitted, blushing. He planned on having Harry first, but then he wanted Harry to take him. He wanted to make that clear to Harry, but the words got stuck in his throat.

            “The old fashioned way?” Harry asked and Draco nodded. “That can be arranged.” Harry smirked.

            They were silent for a time, Draco too embarrassed about being self-conscious regarding the topic of sex to speak. As a Malfoy, he was supposed to have the confidence to take charge of any situation, but this was the one area where Harry had all of the experience. It was glaringly obvious to him how little he had in comparison and that made discussions on this topic awkward. Plus the fact that Leo was in his arms and suckling on his nipple was an even bigger mood killer for him than it was Harry.

            After a few minutes, Harry leaned in to be nearer his fiancé and son, cupping the back of Leo’s little head. Running his fingers through the soft, but already tangled hair, Harry began to think back to how this day had begun at Malfoy Manor. Leo’s hair had been braided then, but Draco had taken it out to please Harry. Then Draco had gone on to be absolutely amazing, not only asking Molly Weasley for help planning the wedding, but actually proposing to Harry at the Burrow. After that, Harry felt like a real cad for ordering Draco to stop seeing Dane’s family.

            “Er, I was, ah, sort of thinking…” Harry began, trailing off nervously. A large part of him hoped that Draco had forgotten what Harry had said earlier about not seeing the Ndiayes. If that was the case, Harry didn’t want to remind Draco of it.

            “Yes?” Draco asked, placing his free hand on Harry’s arm and tilting his head so that he could get a look at Harry’s downturned face.

            “You can braid Leo’s hair if you want. I, er, should never of, uh, said you couldn’t.”

            “He is your child too and I am trying to think about what you would want, especially when I do things like dress him to see your family. It never occurred to me that you might have a problem with braids.”

            “Urgh! It’s not the braids; I was just being stupid. I’m still jealous of Dane and that’s not fair to you and Leo. You can braid his hair whenever you want. And…” Harry paused, summoning the courage to say this next bit, “You can see the Ndiayes if you want to. I had no right to ban you from them. Like you said, Dane’s mum and sisters aren’t Dane.”

            “No, you didn’t. I’m glad you see that now. It will make things much easier when I see them again.”

            “Ah, are you saying you weren’t going to listen to me when I, er, told you not to see them?” Harry asked, beginning to suspect Draco had lied to him earlier. “After you told me you wouldn’t?”

            “I said no such thing. I simply changed the subject and waited for you to come to your senses on your own. And look: it worked.” Draco raised an eyebrow, daring Harry to object.

            “Yeah, it did,” Harry admitted. He was beginning to like the fact that Draco had a mind of his own. It was nice knowing that Draco would never turn into one of those awful fawning Potter fans. Having a backbone was definitely a turn on, not that that was something they could act on with Leo right there between them.

            “By the way, hypocrisy doesn’t suit you. It’s much more my father’s type of thing, so I would appreciate it if you would keep it to a minimum. I prefer you to have as little in common with him as possible,” Draco added.

            Harry agreed and started on a rambling apology, which Draco cut short with a finger to Harry’s lips and a quiet, “Shush. It’s alright, I forgive you. Just try not to do it again.”

            “Alright, I won’t. I promise,” Harry vowed, without bothering to take in the implications of said vow. A lifetime together without making another jealous hypocrisy-laden mistake was a very big promise to make.

            When Leo finished nursing, Draco handed the baby over to Harry and requested, “Burp him for me, please. I have an idea to manufacture a bit of alone time.”

            Burping Leo was becoming an increasingly arduous task, because he didn’t think he needed to stay put for it. Harry tried putting Leo of his shoulder, but that lasted for about three seconds before the squirming and whining started. By then Draco had already fixed his robes and headed up the stairs, so Harry followed after to the nursery. A large amount of Leo’s stuff had been taken and replaced with all of the moves Draco and Leo had made in the last month. Now most of it was back in place, including a shelf and toy box full of toys. Draco began transferring all of the toys into the playpen, while Harry took a seat on the rocker.

            Harry positioned Leo outward on his lap, so that Leo could see what Draco was doing, and then proceeded to firmly pat Leo’s back. Leo gave a little grunt, which Harry mistook for a burp, and said, “Good job, Leo. Got another?”

            Leo gave a louder and longer grunt, his little face skewed up. Draco looked up to see and said, “I don’t think he’s burping, Harry.”

            In that moment the smell being emitted from Leo’s nappy became apparent, wafting up to Harry’s nose. Harry rose immediately, holding Leo out at arm’s length in Draco’s direction. “Here, you take him,” Harry said.

            Draco raised his hands up in a gesture to stop, making his refusal obvious and replied, “No, I don’t think so. He’s your son and you didn’t even manage a burp out of him. If it starts coming out both ends, it’s your turn to deal with it.”

            Leo gave another loud grunt. “But he’s pooping! Pooping is your domain!” Harry insisted, panicking at the image Draco had made pop into his head. He’d been told stories of nappy blow-outs and even one horror story of a nappy blow-out happening at the same time as vomiting. The last had been Teddy, but Harry didn’t want to risk being the one stuck holding the baby if it was happening to Leo this time.

            “No it’s not. You were holding him; this is all you. Where’s your Gryffindor courage now?” Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

            “There is nothing in the Gryffindor handbook about nappies! I don’t think Godric Gryffindor ever had to face this type of thing!”

            “Well I have faced it every day, sometimes twice a day, since February. Come to think of it, it must have happened five times a day that first week. How many times have you changed his nappy?”

            “Twice, alright! And it was enough. I told you what happened that time I watched him while you went out! He grabbed his bits and got his hands covered in it and then it was _everywhere_! You’re the braver wizard, alright, I admit it. Just please, please, please, I’m begging you, take him!” Harry was panicking now that the grunting seemed to stop and the wiggling and whining was back on.

            “No. You accepted my marriage proposal today, or do you not remember?” Draco asked. Harry nodded that he did. “And you have accepted Leo as your son, correct?” Again Harry nodded. “And you have agreed to have a second child with me, or am I mistaken?”

            “Yes, a second child, great, just change this first one for me first,” Harry pleaded.

            “No. I am not going to be a single parent any longer Harry. _I_ have been alone in raising Leo all of this time and that is going to end today. I will _not_ be changing all of the nappies times two. _You will_ have to change your share, starting with this one.” Draco’s arms were crossed now, not budging.

            “I’ll change the pee ones, if you change the poo ones. I’ve changed loads of pee ones. Leo even peed in my face that one time, remember?”

            “No, that was Teddy. Leo stopped peeing in people’s faces months ago after I gave him a dozen firm lectures on how unMalfoy that behavior was.”

            Now that Harry thought about it, the baby who peed in his face did have bright lemon-yellow hair at the time, so it must have been Teddy. “You lectured a baby?” he asked incredulously.

            “It worked, didn’t it? He hasn’t peed on anyone in months. Now are you going to change him or let him continue to squirm until you drop him? The changing table is that piece of furniture over there with the nappies and wipes stacked on top.” Draco pointed to it, to emphasize his point.

            “Do I really have to do this?” Harry asked, carrying Leo in still outstretched arms over to the table and strapping the squirming child down. That started off the crying and full out tantrum, accompanied by Leo throwing his weight around and likely hurting himself with the straps.

            “Yes and hurry up or you will make it worse. If you get it fresh enough, sometimes it’s not all smashed onto his skin,” Draco said to Harry, before going over to Leo’s head. He used two firm hands to hold the little body still and spoke in a firm voice. “Stop that this instant, Leo. You can get up once you have a clean nappy.”

            Harry sighed in resignation and got to work. It was gross and smelly, but Draco was there to grab hold of the little hands before they could interfere with the process. Harry gagged and covered his nose and mouth with his upper left arm, while continuing to wipe. “Can’t I use a spell for this?” he asked, his voice muffled by his arm.

            “No. It’s not gentle enough for babies this young and can cause a rash. It’s only approved for toddlers over eighteen months of age. Keep going, you’re almost done,” Draco replied encouragingly. “And if you think you’re bad at this, elves are much worse.”

            Harry kept at it until the disgusting job was over. Then there was the fresh nappy to put on, the closure on the lion shirt to snap into place, and Leo’s jeans to pull back up. Finally he unfastened the straps and pulled Leo into his arms, cradling the screaming baby.

            “There, there, it’s all better now. It’s all okay. I know, Father is being unreasonable expecting Papa to do it right. You tell him,” Harry told his son, while rubbing soothing circles on Leo back.

            Leo was starting to calm down now, his screams turned into hiccupping whines. Then he let out a loud burp and stopped crying completely. A second after that he was reaching out for the playpen full of toys and saying, “Guck!” His favorite stuffed duck was on top of the toy pile, right next to a stuffed owl and a stuffed fish.

            Meanwhile, Draco went behind Harry and cleaned up the changing table with a spell and vanished the mess. “Well put him in, if he’s finally ready to play,” Draco encouraged.

            Harry deposited Leo in the playpen and the baby reached immediately for the duck and fish, one in each hand and smiling widely, despite the tear tracks still visible on his little face.

            “And just like that it’s all forgotten?” Harry asked.

            “Over and done with and time to move on,” Draco agreed. “Come on, before he realizes the trap.” Draco took Harry’s hand and led them out into the hall, where they stole a moment to be truly alone.

            They stayed right there in the hall, with the door open, so that they could hear if Leo cried, but were out of the baby’s line of sight.

            “I really suck at that,” Harry said, referring to nappy changing.

            “No, you were fine for a newbie. He’s just used to it happening quicker. With a little practice, you’ll be a pro.”

            “You think so?”

            “I know so. You’re Harry Potter; you can do anything you put your mind to.”

            “Including changing poopy nappies?”

            “Especially that, but is talking about it what you really want to spend our first moment alone together as fiancés doing?” Draco asked, reaching out and caressing Harry’s upper arm.

            Harry closed the distance between them, hands musing Draco’s soft blond hair, as he brought their bodies together. “No,” he whispered into Draco’s lips.

            It was then and there that they made out like the horny newly engaged teenagers they were. Harry pushed Draco up against the wall, one knee between Draco’s legs. Their fingers were intertwined and Harry raised them up, above their heads as his tongue probed Draco’s mouth. Draco bucked under Harry as he nipped at Harry’s lips, in between gasps of breath. It was also there that they slumped to the floor, catching their breath, as they cooled off. They couldn’t take things any further than that with Leo so close.

            Harry heard Leo babbling something with a lot of P-sounds and suggested, “Should we go back in there?”

            “No,” Draco replied, before taking another deep breath. “No, I really don’t think he’s referring to anyone or anything when he says Pa. Sorry to burst your bubble, but he’s just babbling. He called one of the flowers in the garden Pa this morning and he called my mother Pa yesterday.”

            “As long as he doesn’t call your dad it,” Harry replied. He was disappointed that he wasn’t as special as the owls, ducks, and fish, whose species Leo did seem to know, but it was only one simple syllable and he too had heard Leo babbling it.

            “Oh trust me, my father is always sure to make a point of his title being Lord Grandfather Malfoy. The only thing that saved me from having to call him my Lord Father was how horribly I mispronounced the word lord as a toddler. He hired a speech tutor over it, but I don’t want to talk about him. There’s something else we need to discuss,” Draco said, blushing and looking away from Harry to avoid eye contact.

            “Yeah? What?” Harry asked, trying to follow Draco’s gaze, but there was nothing there but the old rug on the floor. He furrowed his brow, realizing that this shyness was atypical of Draco and wondering what was going on.

            “Um, I need to give you something…”

            “What?” Harry encouraged, unsure how to get Draco to the point. Leo would only entertain himself for so long and that precious time was ticking by fast.

            “You have, er, read my medical report, yes?”

            “Yeah, and you’ve probably seen mine by now. We are a much more compatible match than you and Dane, so I’m not sure what this is about. I don’t care if you want to do most of the topping.” This was what Harry thought the most likely issue was.

            There was a questionnaire portion of the medical report that had gone a long way to explaining exactly what Dane and Draco had been discussing that day at the fair. Harry, being tired of having the weight of the world upon his shoulders, had scored in the midrange on the test that measured dominance versus submissive tendencies. Draco on the other hand, had spent a lifetime under Lucius Malfoy’s thumb and had thus scored the maximum dominance score possible. The situation was unusual, given that Draco was the virgin and Harry was doing the courting, but Harry didn’t have a problem with it. Plus Draco had said that his score was inflated and had expressed a desire to be more equal; his instincts were still towards dominance, but his mind wished for equality. And to top it off, they had already agreed that Harry would top at least enough to result in a pregnancy.

            “And you saw the part…with my…size?” Draco gulped, hoping that Harry wasn’t going to be one of those wizards who went running the other way when faced with a large package. A few of the dates he’d been on had blanched with fear and not returned his owls after finding out his measurements.

            “Yeah,” now it was Harry’s turn to blush, “it’s big. Like _really_ big, isn’t it? I mean, your dad said it was big and I felt it and it was big, but knowing it’s big and seeing the measurement written out on parchment are two different things.” Likely seeing the size of it with his own eyes would be another shock, but in a good way. He liked the idea of big to the point where the last few nights he’d had wet dreams imagining it.

            “Is that a problem?” Draco asked nervously.

            “No, no way. The opposite, if you must know,” Harry admitted. Now it was his turn not to make eye contact as Draco studied his face.

            “You’re sure?” Draco asked and Harry nodded. “Have you…erm, touched yourself…there?”

            Harry wanted to admit that he’d done so while thinking about Draco, but couldn’t quite go that far. Instead he whispered, “Yeah,” and continued to look away.

            “With what?” Draco asked, but Harry didn’t answer. “Look, I sort of need to know if we are getting married and making love sometime in the next month. I’m not going to fit if you aren’t prepared.” He knew he was too large to fit without deliberate preparation. The same had been true with regards to Dane being unable to fit inside him. He hadn’t wanted either to be hurt come the wedding night, so he’d done a bit of research on the subject and knew what had to be done. The only difference was that it was Harry who needed the preparation now. After seeing the report stating that Harry was working with something on the larger side of average, he was no longer concerned about preparing himself. His own fingers would be sufficient for that.

            Harry raised three fingers on his right hand, to show Draco just what he’d used. Two had been tight and nearly impossible at first, but the last time he’d done it he’d gotten the tip of the third in there and he felt like rounding up.

            “That’s not enough. Not nearly enough. I, er, sort of…” Draco trailed off, suddenly interested in his loafers. He ought to buy a pair of muggle trainers for himself if he was going to be slumming it with Harry. Did expensive shoes make him stand out among the Weasleys?

            “Yeah?” Harry prodded.

            “Ordered…something…” Draco continued.

            “Something? What sort of something?”

            “Let me just…have my house elf fetch it.”

            Draco called Krispy then and asked the elf to fetch the box he’d hidden in his closet back at the Manor. Krispy snapped his fingers and a giftwrapped box covered in shiny silver paper appeared. The elf handed it to Draco, who handed it to Harry so fast it was as if he didn’t want to be caught holding the thing.

            “Is there anything else Master Draco needs Krispy to be doing, sir?” Krispy asked.

            “No. Go back to the Manor and don’t tell anyone about this, ever, especially my parents,” Draco ordered the elf.

            The elf nodded, swore not to tell, and disappeared.

            Harry looked at Draco with one eyebrow raised, expecting an explanation. But all Harry got was a hand motion to unwrap the present, so he did. Inside was a plain brown box. Lifting the lid, he caught sight of a dildo and an instruction pamphlet. It was a small, thin one, but the head was bulbous like a mushroom, which wasn’t something he’d seen before in his limited experience with this type of object. His eyes went wide in surprise and he looked at Draco questioningly.

            “It’s magical….charmed, actually…to, um,” Draco cleared his throat and then spoke the next words in a rush, “to take on my size and shape, but only a little at a time. It grows. You put it in when you go to bed and it takes care of itself. There are some side effects.”

            Harry raised his eyebrow again, but when no further explanation came, he asked, “Side effects? What sort of side effects?”

            “Erotic ones…In your dreams.” Again Draco was looking away, refusing to make eye contact.

            “That’s it?” Harry asked, wondering how a wet dream could be considered a side-effect of going to sleep with a magical dildo inside him. That seemed like the obvious main effect. “Is there anything else I need to know?”

            “Just read the instructions carefully before you try it.”

            “Alright…” Harry agreed, despite the fact that he’d much rather Draco tell him how to use the dildo than read about it.

            When Draco spoke next, it again came out in a nervous rush, “And it won’t reach full size until after you’ve had the real thing. That way it will still feel like you’re a virgin on our wedding night, but I won’t hurt you.”

            “Do you think you could come over after Leo goes to bed and help me try it out?” Harry suggested softly. He was going for seductive, but he wasn’t sure he knew how to be seductive.

            “No. I need to get Leo,” Draco answered, darting into the room.

            The baby’s babbling had been steadily growing louder as they stood outside, but Leo wasn’t crying. He was standing up, holding onto the side of the playpen with one arm slung over the side for support, and using the other arm to throw his toys out onto the floor, in an attempt to get human or elf attention. At the Manor, elves would appear instantly to return his toys seconds after throwing them, but no elves were appearing now. He hadn’t decided if that was a good thing or not, because he did prefer human attention to elf.

            There was no telling how much longer Leo would’ve continued entertaining himself, but Harry was fairly certain that Draco hadn’t left him alone in the hallway because of their son. No, Harry had stepped over a line that Draco wasn’t prepared to cross today and Draco had used Leo as an excuse to get away.

            Harry sighed with disappointment, although Draco giving him the dildo at least was progress. He headed upstairs and tucked the sex toy away in his room on the top floor, determined to use it by himself tonight.

            When Harry returned to the nursery, Draco had Leo on his hip and the nappy bag slung over his shoulder.

            Draco looked up to see Harry and announced, “I need to go home for dinner, or my father will ask too many questions. I need to tell him that we’re engaged and I don’t want him to guess what I gave you. You can come to dinner with us, but then you’ll have to endure my father. I’m not sure how he will take this and I’d rather spare you from him if it’s bad.”

            Harry wasn’t in the mood to make nice with Lucius and he felt the draw of his new toy upstairs. He’d been hard since the make-out session had begun and he didn’t want to turn up for dinner with Draco’s parents in his present state. He wasn’t even particularly hungry. What he wanted most at the moment was to go back upstairs, read the instructions, and give the dildo a go.

            “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Harry replied, giving first Draco and then Leo a kiss on the cheek. “Take care of your father for me, Leo.”

            Leo babbled back in reply and nodded his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like it, because the story is almost over. I’m planning one more chapter and then an epilogue chapter showing them at some point in the future. Any ideas for what their 3 children (Leo, Teddy, and Lily) should be like? Personality, hobbies, and interests?  
> Please Review!


	41. Chapter 41

            Harry and Draco stood arm in arm on the platform in the middle of Hogsmeade for the first of many parades to be held in honor of the late Professor Severus Snape’s birthday. A troop of dancers clad in outrageously billowy black robes danced below the platform to the beat of the nearby band. With his free hand, Draco held Snape’s brand new Order of Merlin, first class, which he’d just accepted on behalf of his late mentor. Harry, with his free arm, clutched his wand, a Sonorous charm on the tip of his tongue as he waited for the dancing and music to stop.

            Draco and Harry were married now, proudly wearing their wedding bands for the world to see. The wedding occurred a mere three weeks after Draco’s proposal, Narcissa and Molly being blindingly efficient wedding planners. Narcissa had so much wedding planned that basically all Molly had had to do when she came in was cancel all of the over-the-top frills that Draco didn’t want and cut the guest list in half. Not to diminish Molly’s role, though, because there was a _lot_ of over-the-top frills and guests that had to go and Narcissa did not part with them easily. If it weren’t for the Weasley matriarch, they never would’ve had the simple elegance ready in that short a period of time.

            Harry had spent the entire three weeks incredibly busy. First there was the marriage contract to finalize. He did as Draco suggested and took a few days off from work to meet with his lawyer to hash out the details. Those days were rather productive and he began to falsely hope that the remaining negotiations would work themselves out easily. Unfortunately, it was Lucius Malfoy he was negotiating with. Lucius’ first suggestion initially seemed fairly innocuous and Harry thought it was a genuinely good idea.

            Lucius wanted to increase the number of children the couple would have from two or more to three or more, since they already had Leo. Draco’s old contract with Dane had been for two or more children, but Leo didn’t count as Dane’s child, while the baby did count as Harry’s. As the last of his line, an only child, and having spent his teenaged years looking up to the wonderfully large Weasley family, Harry wanted a big family. Three children seemed like a better idea than two. Harry made the suggested change and sent the contract back over to the Malfoys to review.

            Draco, unaware that his father had put Harry up to it, was left sorting out the contract. He only wanted two children: Leo and a little girl. He’d agreed to a third, so that Dane could have a male heir. It was one more child than he wanted, but he’d compromised. Now Harry was asking him to make the same compromise and he wasn’t going to dismiss the idea out of hand despite the fact that Harry already had a male heir. So they had spent the better part of a week discussing the issue, Harry giving his many reasons for wanting a big family. Draco wanted a bigger family than he’d had, but three was really pushing it for him. The Malfoys always had only one or two children and the Blacks two or three. He knew he wanted at least two, but he didn’t see the point in backing themselves into a contract requiring three children. If the contract called for two or more, then they could wait and see how it went _before_ deciding whether or not to have a third.

            When Harry, with Lucius’ encouragement, hadn’t budged on the matter, Draco had realized that something else was going on. He uncovered his father’s influence and reacted by insisting that Lucius’ opinion was _not under any circumstance_ to be taken into consideration with regards to their marriage contract, their marriage, their wedding, their children, or their lives. He even wrote it into the new version of the marriage contract and changed the wording back to two or more children. Lucius had tried influencing Harry on a number of additional issues, but now that Draco was on the lookout for such interference, he squashed it quickly. The contract, free from undue influence from Lucius, was then transformed into the perfect description of the life they wanted to share.

            But that was only half of Harry’s worries, because in addition to the contract, he had a proposal to arrange. Draco dropped frequent hints that he was waiting on Harry to ask him and put a ring on his finger. Harry made one attempt to weasel out of it, saying that Draco’s proposal had been so perfect that he didn’t want to mar the memory with a second, lesser proposal. Flattery will get you rather far with a Malfoy, but Draco made a point of informing Harry that flattery alone would not get them to the alter: a ring and a question were necessary prerequisites.

            Narcissa had come to Harry’s aid, asking if the trouble was finding a ring. That was indeed part of it, because Ron had volunteered to go with him to the jewelry store in Diagon Alley. After being confronted with the daunting number of expensive possibilities and not knowing which to choose, the pair ran out with their tails between their legs and no ring in hand. Narcissa offered to let Harry have his pick of Malfoy and Black family bands, but suggested that Harry first ask the Gringotts’ goblins to check his vault for the Potter family rings. Every old pureblood family usually had multiple sets of wedding bands passed down from generation to generation.

            Harry did as bid and returned with two sets of wedding bands, but still as indecisive as ever. He simply didn’t know if Draco would like any of them. Two of them were male rings, which were both far plainer than the ring Dane had given Draco. The other two female rings had thin bands and flashy stones, but he thought they were far too girly for Draco. That conundrum was one of the many he’d been unable to solve at the jewelry store, but Narcissa once again came to the rescue. She picked the rose gold set with the Celtic knot-work embellishments and large central diamond, insisting that it suited Draco better than the yellow gold bands set with dozens of smaller stones. She instructed Harry to have it sent off to her jeweler for modification. The man’s band would be sacrificed in order to make the woman’s band larger and thicker, while using magic to maintain the original style of the set.

            That left only the planning and execution of a ridiculously elegant proposal. Oddly enough, Narcissa assigned both of Draco’s grandmother’s to help Harry with that. The old women had been by Narcissa’s side in planning the frilly intricacies of the wedding that Molly was hard at work unraveling and were now in the way of the desired simple wedding. Therefore Narcissa was grateful for a task to reassign her mother and mother-in-law and set them to work coming up with the details of Harry’s proposal.

            Grandmother Malfoy turned out to be the less horribly bigoted of the white-haired pair and Harry quickly began to like her far better than Grandmother Black. If it wasn’t for Grandmother Malfoy’s hatred of young children, she was almost tolerable. She was elegant and graceful in an old-fashioned way that screamed wealth and class, although she never came across as pretentious, the way her son often did. She’d aged well and her lightly wrinkled face still bore a clear resemblance to her son and grandson, indicating just where the Malfoy wizards had gotten most of their good looks. And if it weren’t for her stalwart dominance holding Grandmother Black in check, Harry might not have survived the planning.

            Grandmother Black had been good friends with her sister-in-law, Walburga Black, and was almost as bad. She bore a striking similarity to her two elder daughters, Bellatrix and Andromeda, except that her white hair was too light to have ever been black; what was left of it was thin, stringy, and quite curly. Her penetrating blue eyes seemed to pop grotesquely out of her pink lash-less eyelids. She had a biting tongue and always had bad things to say about everyone, but she did absolutely adore Leo and at Grandmother Malfoy’s insistence, made allowances for Harry, on account of Draco.

            Between the two old witches, they could’ve planned the engagement on their own and it would’ve been the grandest ball of the century, far surpassing the simple wedding Narcissa and Molly were left planning. Harry, however, hated balls, dancing, and almost everything about the initial proposal plan. He nixed it all and set the witches back to ground zero to help him plan a date that Draco would actually like.

            Once all was decided and planned, Harry asked Draco to marry him in a beautiful garden in Spain, a scant few days before the wedding itself. They’d spent the day together, just the two of them, sightseeing before slipping into an art museum and had had a wonderful time. Leo was left at home with Molly and Arthur and sent milk via house elf, so that the new parents didn’t have to look after the baby for the day. They were absolutely free to enjoy each other and be the carefree teenagers that neither had had much practice at, ending with the candlelight dinner in a moonlit garden.

            Blooming roses spilled over the dirt paths, infusing the air with their scent. The meal was delicious and followed by a walk in the garden to take in all of the gorgeous flowers. Just as they made the full circuit and arrived back at the lone table, the live music switched to an ancient wizard love song. It was performed by some old witch Harry had never heard of and an equally aged band, which both grandmothers insisted were all the rage back in their day.

            The live music was a nice touch, setting the mood for romance and giving them something to waltz to. The grandmothers had insisted on teaching Harry how to waltz; they would cave and help plan something without a formal ball, only if there was still to be one waltz. He’d been self-conscious of his limited dancing ability at the time, but pleased when he saw how happy it made Draco that he’d learned to waltz for Draco. After the waltz, Harry had read an old sappy love poem and tried to imitate the upper-class lilt Grandmother Malfoy had used to read the poem to him, which had Draco giggling at the absurdity. Finally Harry went down on one knee and asked for Draco’s hand.

            “I don’t want to mess this up and I can’t hope to compete with how you asked me, so I’m just going to say that the same goes double for me. Will you, Draco Lucius Malfoy, do me the honor of marrying me?” Harry had asked.

            Of course Draco had said yes and was smiling ear to ear by the time he tore his eyes away from Harry’s face to look down at the beautiful ring Harry had slipped on his finger. His only regret was that he hadn’t been expecting a rose gold ring and had chosen a platinum ring to give Harry. The silvery metal didn’t exactly clash with the rose gold, nor did the emeralds and sea serpent clash with the diamonds and Celtic knots, but they were not a matched set and he wished they were. If it were up to him, there would be a pair of emeralds added to either side of the diamond and two thin rings of platinum surrounding the rose gold. Although, this way had more character, which Harry loved. Draco, on the other hand, knew that there were still the wedding rings to go and instantly decided not to use the matching plain platinum bands he’d set aside for their wedding day. Instead Draco rush ordered the perfect platinum and emerald serpent band for himself and a rose gold Celtic knot with diamond band for Harry.

            Now that it was all said and done, Draco was very happy with the visual effect of the two of them standing side-by-side each wearing two very different but entwined bands. The rings were the perfect symbolism for their love, showing the melding of two very different wizards into one happy and loving union. Best of all, Draco had marked Harry with an obviously Malfoy emblem and the Celtic knot ring turned out to be an ancient Potter emblem, so Harry had done the same in return.

            Harry’s proposal may not have been new, modern, or thought up on his own, but he had taken the time and the effort to arrange a date as special as their first that they would both remember forever. Most importantly, Harry had asked Draco and that was all Draco really wanted: to be loved by and asked to marry Harry Potter. His dreams had come true and he couldn’t help the giant smile as he stood by Harry’s side at the center of the very public event. Not even the thought of the sour look Professor Snape always wore at public displays of affection could detract from this moment.

            Draco owed a lot to the late professor, including his life and his innocence. Snape had made the unbreakable vow to protect him from harm and complete the impossible task for him. He never would’ve been able to dispense with Headmaster Dumbledore, but failing Lord Voldemort was not an option. Then there was the attack in the bathroom that almost killed him and set the stage for his first pregnancy; again it had been Severus Snape who saved him. It was Snape who’d made him a prefect and given him the authority to please his father. While most of the other teachers saw him and equated him with his father, Snape had taken the time to know him. He stood there on the platform with the parade surrounding him and thought of the late professor.

            Had he lived, Severus Snape would’ve turned a paltry thirty-nine years old on this chilly winter day. It was such a shame that he’d had so few years to live. Almost all of those years had been spent unhappy or downright miserable, first as an only child with a horrible home life, and then tormented at school to the point that he choose the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters over the love of his life, who no longer wanted him. Lily was the only friend he ever bothered counting, the only one who had ever mattered to him, and the only person, besides his mother, who he’d ever loved. It was the cruelest love, never returned or reciprocated, and then she was murdered, taken permanently from him. He hadn’t wanted to go on living then. To ask it of him was the cruelest thing Dumbledore had ever done to him. But he had done it, bearing his burden stoically. Draco and everyone else there celebrating Snape that day hoped that he had finally found some peace, if only in his death.

            Draco didn’t mean to be cruel, but he did want his favorite teacher back. He wanted the man who had looked out for him as fiercely as his father. Lucius had failed him, but Severus never had. He couldn’t help but wonder why that was. Had the professor seen the self-conscious little boy stuck trying to fill the wrong shoes in order to please an overbearing father? Had he seen the child whose own selfish and snobbish upbringing got him rejected time and again by the boy he most coveted for a friend? Or had he seen an ally, a compatriot in the same position of wanting the Potter boy’s attention with no appropriately pureblood way to go about making it a reality?

            The cymbals clashed loudly one last time just as the dancers came to a sudden stop, their black robes still swishing around them.

            That was Harry’s cue. He cast his charm, cleared his throat, and announced, “Erm, hi. I’m Harry. Ah, I guess you all know that though. Erm, I’m pleased to welcome you to the first ever celebration of one of the greatest wizards of our time, Severus Snape!” He paused for applause. “This man saved my life countless times and was instrumental in the defeat of Tom Riddle. He never liked me,” here he chuckled nervously. Draco squeezed his hand in support, “and he was anything but fair as a professor, but he loved my mother and he did what he did in order to be in the right place at the right time to save me. I think he might’ve hated children, but he put up with the lot of us, as his penance for a dumb mistake made as a teenager. Let his error serve as a lesson to every young witch and wizard when they are faced with doing the right thing or the popular thing. He spent seventeen years making up for it and I, for one, am grateful. I judge his debt to society repaid and this Order of Merlin, First Class, well deserved!”

            Draco held the award up high and the crowd cheered. The street in Hogsmeade was lined with the tightly packed bodies of the great number of witches and wizards who had come out to celebrate. Behind the stage were a few dozen chairs, two of which were occupied by Narcissa and Lucius, who were passing an active eleven month old Leo between them. On Narcissa’s other side sat Dromeda with Teddy. Kingsley Shacklebolt was nearby, scheduled for a speech of his own later in the day. Ron had given his seat up to Fleur, who was pregnant. Fleur sat next to Hermione, who along with the rest of the school, had been let free to attend the event. The rest of the seats were taken by members of the Wizenagamot. Neville, Ginny, Luna, and a great many other war heroes stood surrounding the chairs.

            If asked a year ago whether he would’ve chosen the Malfoy parents or the Weasley parents to hold his son and sit in the guest of honor seats allocated for his parental figures, he never would’ve guessed he’d choose the Malfoys. He and Draco had been married for three months now and things between him and Lucius had been strained, at best, all the way up until the wedding. Draco had even joked that the only reason Lucius was going along with Narcissa’s wedding planning was that Lucius was counting on Harry’s job as an Auror getting him killed before the wedding. But that had all changed.

            The Malfoys had gone with them on their honeymoon in Italy, in order to watch Leo for them. They didn’t want to leave their son behind for the two weeks and with Draco still breastfeeding, it was an impossibility. Thus Lucius and Narcissa had come along, but had made an effort to stay on the other side of the wizarding resort as much as possible, to give the new couple the alone time they craved. The practically non-stop sex marathon of the first few days never would’ve happened without Lucius regularly dropping off and picking up Leo, always making sure to avoid acknowledging what was occurring in that hotel room. Lucius had to be the one to do the drop offs, because Draco was too self-conscious to let his mother see him or Harry like that. Draco would’ve spent all of his time blushing and casting air-freshening charms if his mother had been allowed near that room.

            After the honeymoon, they’d temporally moved into Malfoy Manor, sharing the new parents’ suite that had formerly belonged to Draco. That was because Draco was having Grimmauld Place remodeled to suite them better. Walburga’s portrait was relocated to Regulus’ room on the fifth floor and the house elf heads buried respectfully. All of the old decor was spruced up or replace and the fourth floor, in particular, was completely gutted.

            Now the fourth floor of the townhouse contained one large master suite, complete with bathroom, sitting room, and most importantly, a nursery. Leo’s nursery was still down on the third floor, but now he had a crib on the fourth floor too. Ron’s old room had been turned into Teddy’s room, while they had plans to turn Draco’s old room into something for a little girl. Harry’s old room on the fifth floor, which had once belonged to Sirius, however, had been left exactly as it was, along with Regulus’ old room next to it. Ron and Hermione’s things had been moved up there when the two had stayed over during the winter holidays. Finally, the decrepit potion’s lab on the second floor was gutted and turned into a space that could be used for brewing potions, or as an art studio. Draco planned on using the room to paint, but for now he was limited to sketching.

            During the time it took a crew to come in and do all of that, the new family stayed at Malfoy Manor and Harry grew closer to Lucius and Narcissa. He came to an understanding with his in-laws based on the fact that they all wanted what was best for Draco and Leo and for them to be happy. The four adults began to work together to care for the baby they all loved. One might have thought that the cooperation would end with their move back to Grimmauld Place, but it didn’t. Instead the move had come with directions from the healer for Draco to take it easy and Harry hadn’t thought twice about asking Narcissa and Lucius to help out. They’d even moved two more Malfoy elves over to help with the chores. So it was the Malfoys holding Leo and sitting in the seats next to the pair he and Draco had vacated in order to take the stage.

            Harry waited for the cheers to die down before he continued, “We just have one announcement before we will let the parade continue.” He held Draco tighter, moving the arm around Draco so that his hand rested lovingly on the slight swell of Draco’s abdomen. He locked eyes with Draco, his husband’s free hand joining his on Draco’s belly, as they smiled at each other. “We are going to have another baby!” He was ecstatically happy about this development and he frequently found himself unable to keep his hands off of the wonderful little bump.

            Draco, having conceived on their wedding night or soon after, was just past the three month pregnant mark. They’d waited until now to announce to the world that they were expecting their second child, because they wanted to make sure they were past the delicate first trimester. Draco was still forbidden from carrying heavy objects, including Teddy and Leo. Teddy, being a late crawler, had gotten a bit chubby and weighed as much as Leo. Leo was now walking, or more accurately, running, and seemed to only be growing up and not out, but still, he weighed a stone and a half and was therefore too heavy for Draco to lift. Draco could still hold the babies while sitting, which he did often, especially because he was still nursing Leo. Soon his milk would turn back into colostrum and Leo would have to be weaned, but for now Leo was still a month shy of his first birthday and too young.

            The crowd was silent for a moment, before bursting into a row of chatter. Reporters began to clamber for position in front of the stage, calling out inaudible questions that were lost in the roar of the crowd. When the noise level began to wane, eager to see if Harry had anything else to say, the voices of the reporters could suddenly be heard.

            The first entire question that they made out was, “Will you be naming him after Professor Snape?” This was, after all, a parade being held in the late professor’s honor on a day that was now a national wizarding holiday.

            Harry looked at Draco questioningly, because they hadn’t considered boy names.

            Since the beginning Draco had always specified a desire for a girl as opposed to a boy. Draco even went so far as to insist that Harry visualize their daughter at least once an hour during the waking day for the entire week leading up to the wedding and throughout their honeymoon, including during the actual act of procreation itself. This was because male pregnancy was a form of magic and magic responds to wishes and desires. Some wizards claimed that they picked out facial features and personality traits and then produced exactly the child they imagined. Draco did want some surprises and definitely didn’t want Lucius’ desire for a blond to interfere, so he directed Harry only to think of a girl in the abstract and not to picture a specific little girl. As long as they got a little princess, Draco would be happy. And if she came out blond, then it would be due to random chance.

            Harry tried to follow all of Draco’s orders on the matter, but he lost control over his thought process while Draco was buggering him senseless. They had regrouped, cleaned up, eaten, and meditated on their desire for a girl before Harry had returned the favor, but he’d had trouble focusing on making a girl when all he could think about was the exquisite feel of taking Draco for the first time. Thus if they ended up with another boy, it would be his fault and they both knew it.

            Draco cast a Sonorous on himself before answering, “I will admit that Harry here has absolutely _horrid_ tastes in names. I know this because we have still yet to come up with a middle name we can agree upon and trust me, his suggestions have been absolutely awful. But, I doubt even he’d consider naming a girl Severus, although he did suggest Jamie, which is worse.”

            With that the audience went up in another roar of excitement. This time when the roar died down, the question on every reporter’s lips was, “It’s a girl, then?”

            Draco nodded and Harry answered with a confirmatory, “She is. We’ve agreed to name her Lily, after my mother. In a way, naming her Lily also honors Professor Snape, because my mother was the only woman he ever loved.”

            They’d had that test done at the same time as the official pregnancy test, just to make sure it was a girl. Not that either of them considered terminating if they had another boy, but they were eager to know if their efforts had paid off. With any medical test, there was a chance of error, but the error rate of predicting a girl from a male pregnancy was much lower than the error rate of predicting a boy from a male pregnancy or a girl from a female pregnancy. They were cautioned that it was still possible to get an error of that nature and that they ought to have a visual test done after the sex organs develop, just to make certain, but Draco was already sure. He could sense that the little person forming inside of him was the princess he’d been hoping for.

            They were getting the signal from the director of the day’s festivities to wrap things up, so Harry said, “Thank you all for coming.”

            Draco added, “Do not forget to donate to the Severus Snape War Orphan fund on your way out. My father said he is willing to challenge any of you to donate more than he!”

            With that, they made their way towards the steps, leading down to their seats. Harry kept an extra firm grip on Draco as they traversed the stairs. This may be Draco’s second pregnancy, but it was the first Harry was there for and he couldn’t help his overprotective streak. The healer’s warnings not to allow Draco to do too much and to be careful of stairs constantly rang in his head. Draco often forgot the warnings, since he hadn’t been under nearly so many restrictions while pregnant with Leo. That meant that Harry was on constant vigilance for the both of them, keeping himself plastered to Draco’s side to ensure nothing went wrong.

            Draco had yet to complain about being smothered with all of Harry’s worrying for two reasons. First, he hadn’t had anyone to dote on him like that when he was pregnant with Leo. He’d had his mother and the house elves, but he always had them and they didn’t count. He hadn’t had a significant other to massage his aching back or rub his swollen feet. Now he did; Harry did all of those things and more and it was so nice. Harry carried him up the many flights of stairs when he was too tired to do it himself or when he was forbidden by healer from doing so. He finally had someone to share the experience with and he loved it.

            The second reason had to do with the fact that Draco had been given almost no restrictions and hadn’t experienced any complications during his first pregnancy, while this second pregnancy seemed filled with restrictions and complications. Apparently a second pregnancy so soon after the first was not recommended and meant that he had to eat high calorie foods, have weekly checkups, not lift anything over five pounds, get lots of rest, and absolutely not walk up or down the five flights of stairs between their newly renovated bedroom and the kitchen. He often felt stir crazy when Harry left him alone and went to work, but the house elves brought food to his room and all he had to do to get away was grab Leo’s hand and step through the floo.

            Meanwhile the music and dancing started back up, marching down the street. The next act composed of house elves riding thestrals was already visible flying behind the band. Pretty much anyone over the age of five who survived the war could see the black winged horses the elves were riding. An entire class of first years, swollen by twenty percent to accommodate the twelve year old muggleborns who hadn’t received their letters the year before, arrived to the start of term able to see the beasts pulling the Hogwarts carriages. Sadly there would be no mystery of the horseless carriages for many years to come. Teddy and Leo, on the other hand, were young enough to have been spared the horrors and were both watching the flying house elves with rapt amazement, because house elves did not fly. Harry looked at his boys and hoped that that would never change; that his boys would never see the graceful, yet skeletal creatures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only thing left is the epilogue. I’m thinking of showing them and the children when the kids are about 10 or so…  
> Please Review!


	42. Epilogue

Epilogue:

 

            Nine years later they were in the paternity ward of St. Mungo’s, Draco exhausted, but with a beautiful newborn baby in hand to show for all of his efforts. This child had been a surprise, but a welcome one. It had been so long since he’d cast the spell that allowed him to become pregnant with Leo that they had thought it had worn off. They’d stopped using protection years ago, a year after he stopped nursing their daughter Lily. They hadn’t needed any spells or potions to make Lily, because he was still nursing Leo at the time. Breastfeeding renewed the magic and kept it flowing in his system. But he hadn’t breastfed for years and years now and they had long ago assumed all of the magic had dissipated. They’d been having unprotected sex for years and nine months ago was the only time since Lily that Harry’s seed had taken. They still switched in the bedroom, with Harry bottoming about twice as often as Draco, but Draco’s seed had never once taken in Harry, because the spell that allowed for males to be impregnated had never been cast on Harry.

            They were wrong about the male pregnancy magic being out of Draco’s system though, which was how they ended up with child number three; four if you count Teddy and they _did_ count him. Lily was born just twenty months after Leo, giving them three children within two years of age. It had been a lot of work, especially for Draco, in the beginning. It still was a lot of work, but the three children were old enough to entertain themselves for long stretches of time, giving Draco a bit of time to himself to work on potions and paintings; he’d even earned a few of his NEWTs from home. He was finally in the home stretch, Hogwarts for all three children within sight, when they learned they would be starting from the beginning again with a new precious miracle. His painting and brewing would have to wait.

            Leo was the oldest of the children and therefore the leader; he was brave as a lion and still bore a striking resemblance to a young Harry, only quite a bit taller and slightly more attractive thanks to the few traits he inherited from Draco. He idolized Hagrid, despite Draco’s disapproval of the half-giant. He was already involved in breeding owls, peacocks, and abraxans, having a particular affinity towards flying animals, and had a saltwater fish tank full of tropical and exotic fish in his bedroom. He liked Quidditch alright, but complained about the broom being inferior to his beloved abraxans. He was of the opinion that the sport should be played on flying horses with the Quaffle as the only ball. When he played, he was a Chaser.

            Teddy was the middle child and the follower, but his brains and strong magic always ensured he stood out in his own right. He was clumsy, constantly knocking things over as he rampaged past, and had a heart-shaped face like his mother. His father’s features were there too, but the natural light brown hair was almost always some shade of blue, turquoise being a favorite, and the nose and chin tended to be altered in an effort to look more like one of his adoptive family members; either Draco, Harry, Leo, or Lily, depending on his mood. Sometimes he was bubbly like his mother, but at other times, when he felt the weight on his shoulders, he was more serious like his father.

            Lily was their princess, spoiled the most because she was the youngest and the only girl. She had Harry’s late mother’s fiery spirit, although she tended to take after Draco in speech, facial expressions, and mannerisms, often reminding Harry of his husband. Sometimes she was a tad bratty, but more often she came across as a self-confident, pretentious, rich kid, similar to how Draco had acted at her age. She was an even mix of her parents and grandparents; Harry and James’ square jaw, Narcissa’s blue eyes and golden blond hair, Lucius’ and Draco’s pointy nose and tall, slender build, with mostly her namesake’s bone structure, including the cheekbones, forehead, and shape of the eyes. Both of her fathers loved to watch her, mesmerized by the exquisite melding of themselves their love had produced.

            The only one who wasn’t happy with the three Malfoy Potter children was Lucius Malfoy. He wanted an heir and none of those three would do in his opinion. Teddy, or Edward, as Lucius referred to the child, was out of the question. Edward was only the godson, half adopted into the family and still living with his grandmother on weekends and holidays. Leo had too much Harry, too much Potter, and way too much Gryffindor in him to be suitable. Lily was his favorite, but she was a witch, not a wizard and she didn’t look all that much like the typical Malfoy. Her eyes were light, but blue, not grey. Her hair was blond, but golden, not silvery. Her nose and build were right, but her facial bone structure was all wrong. Her name was even wrong: Lily Malfoy _Potter_ ; it was not a proper name for the Malfoy heir.

            Lily had the attitude and mannerisms of a Malfoy and Lucius loved her, so he would ensure she married well and received a proper dowry. She was even top on his list to be the Malfoy heir, but because she was a girl, he had yet to claim her, something in him holding out. Until now, he didn’t know why he was holding back, only that it mattered not: if he died without naming an heir after Draco, Draco would inherit the title Lord Malfoy and name Lily the Malfoy heir, because Leo was already the Potter heir. There was no risk in holding off and now he was glad he had held back.

            Lucius, grey and aged, but not bowed or broken, by his many years, slipped silently into the hospital room behind his wife. He waited patiently until his son handed his newest grandson over to his wife. Upon peering over Narcissa’s shoulder and getting his first look at the baby, he knew that this was the child he was waiting for. This was the Malfoy grandson he was due.

            The newborn’s hair was so short, thin, and pale that at first glance he appeared bald, but he wasn’t. Lucius gently reached a hand forward and caressed the soft silvery strands. In response the tiny head turned and eyes so incredibly pale that they appeared to have no color at all blinked open for a second, before closing against the harsh light of the room. But true colorless irises were red from the blood vessels in the eye and these eyes definitely were not red, which meant they were likely the Malfoy grey.

            Miniature facial features were always difficult to make out on a freshly born baby, but the chin had a distinct point to it. The baby was not as close a likeness to Lucius as Draco had been, but he was far closer than Lily. The features in common with Harry were limited to the shape of the eyes and the Potter ears, which pleased Lucius. The nose was not as pointy as Draco’s and Lily’s had been, but nor was it the shape Harry’s; it bore similarities to Narcissa’s nose and most likely came from the Black side. Best of all, he was a boy, wrapped in a light blue blanket to prove it.

            Lucius smiled like the cat who caught the canary and asked as nonchalantly as possible, “Draco, son, what have you named this magnificent grandson of mine?” He hoped it was something grand, worthy of a Malfoy and without the superfluous “Potter” ruining the end.

            Draco blinked in exhaustion, attempted a grunt in acknowledgement that his father had spoken, and waved a finger in Harry’s direction, to indicate that Harry should answer for him. Then he closed his eyes and fell into a shallow sleep, helped along by the pain potion.

            “Erm, we named him Lynx. Lynx Alastor Severus Malfoy Potter,” Harry answered.

            When Draco had let him fill out the birth certificate, Harry had been tempted to tack on James, Sirius, and Albus too, but he knew he was already pushing it with the Alastor. Besides, their pet crup was named Sirius, they had an owl named James, and Albus was Teddy’s toad; it would be too confusing. They hadn’t planned on having another child, so they hadn’t saved those names for anyone special. Draco had suggested using Harry for a middle name, but Harry had brushed that idea off the table without giving it a serious thought. There were already too many babies in the wizarding world named after him; his son would be named after two of the heroes who had given their lives for him, the only two whose names their family had yet to use for pets.

            Lucius groaned internally, trying to keep his frustration to himself. Why did his son insist on letting Potter have a say in naming the children, when it was clear with Lily that Potter had no taste in names? At least Lynx and Severus weren’t bad, but those were probably his son’s doing. “How would you feel about striking a bargain with me, Auror Potter? I will drop the Malfoy from Leo’s and Lily’s names and you drop the Potter from Lynx’s.”

            Harry looked from Lucius, to Draco, to Baby Lynx in Narcissa’s arms, and then back to Lucius. He would get the better deal: two Potters to Lucius’ one Malfoy. As it was, both Leo and Lily wrote only the Malfoy name on their school work, when they bothered to write a last name at all, claiming that two last names were too many letters to bother with. Changing their last names to only Potter would end that habit quick. He was tempted, but he knew how Draco felt about this topic. Thus he set his face in a stern expression when he answered, “As tempting as that offer may be, Draco has made his opinion on this matter well-known. I believe he would want me to ask you to kindly keep your pointy nose out of the business of naming our children.” In actuality, Draco normally used more colorful language, along the lines of, “Tell the old git to fuck off,” but there was a baby in the room, so a direct quote was out of the question.

            Lucius harrumphed in indignation. He was about to protest about the indignity of being treated so rudely, when Narcissa intervened.

            “That is a rather long name. Did you come up with it on your own?” Narcissa asked Harry. If this child was anything like his older brother and sister, she knew he would hate having to learn such a mouthful. And it was quite a bit more name than either Leo or Lily had, so it would be that much worse.

            “Er, no? Um, Draco did let me choose the final name, but we’ve been discussing names for months. He told me he liked Lynx and Scorpius the best. I went with Lynx, because I thought it sounded better with Leo and Lily. We’ve been leaning towards Severus as the middle name all along, but I thought it sounded weird after Lynx, so I put Alastor in the middle,” Harry answered, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. He knew Lucius didn’t approve of Lily’s name, but his daughter had to be named after his mother and it fit her.

            “It is a bit long. I suppose he will need a tutor in Kindergarten to learn it,” Narcissa replied. “Speaking of school, Dromeda is at the Manor waiting for the children to floo home. Should I have her bring them straight over or do you think it better to wait?”

            During the week Teddy, Leo, and Lily lived in Grimmauld Place with Harry and Draco. They each had their own room on the third floor. Over the years, most of Regulus’ and Sirius’ things had been distributed between the three children, so that they each had pieces of the past in their rooms. Leo and Teddy had fought over Sirius’ Gryffindor themed décor, while Lily pretty much had her pick of Regulus’. The room formerly belonging to Regulus had long ago been turned into the playroom; a hazardous room with a toy-strewn floor that Draco hadn’t been able to enter for months, owing to the fact that he couldn’t see his feet and therefore couldn’t risk stepping on Merlin-knew-what. Harry never thought he’d manage to fill the giant townhouse, but they had and Draco had begun to complain it was too small. There was talk of moving into the much larger Malfoy Manor, but as long as Lucius remained in residence there, that talk never went far. No, Grimmauld Place was their home and would remain that way.

            Because the wizarding school in Wiltshire was the best in the country, Draco flooed the kids to his parents’ house every morning and from there they flooed to the Wiltshire primary school. Draco was normally there to pick them up when they flooed back to the Manor, but if not, Narcissa was eager to play the doting grandmother until he arrived. When Draco had gone into labor in the night, Narcissa had been called to watch the children. She’d taken them to school in the morning, but had called her sister straight after, so that she could be here at hospital for the birth of what was surely her last grandbaby. She wouldn’t miss this for the world.

            “I think Draco’s gone to sleep. Best wait until he’s gotten a chance to rest. You know how loud and rambunctious they are sure to be when they get here,” Harry answered.

            “Not at all. My grandchildren are always the epitome of class and proper behavior,” Lucius fibbed, keeping the smirk at bay as he said it. He did love having the children running around the Manor shrieking with laughter and delight. On occasion he tried to keep them orderly for Draco’s sake, but when it was Harry’s turn to pick the children up, Harry was to be watching them, or they were at a function for Harry’s work, Lucius riled his beloved grandchildren up with sugar and encouraged the ruckus. There was very little else he could do to get back at the Auror for having the audacity to marry his son, so he made sure to take pleasure in what he could get away with. If they were spoiled rotten as a result, then it couldn’t be helped, not even when it came to little Edward. After all, the Lupin child had long ago learned that he could get away with so much more in the Malfoy home when his hair and eyes were as pale as silver and his features were refined and pointy.

            “Sit down, dear. We are staying awhile, are we not?” Lucius asked, positioning a free armchair behind his wife.

            Narcissa sat, mindful of the delicate bundle in her arms. “Yes dear,” she replied.

            “I think it is time I hire Corbinian on full time to handle the family finances. I would like to spend more time with our precious grandchildren,” Lucius said, pulling up the other free chair to sit beside his wife in order to have a good view of the baby.

            Lynx wasn’t doing much, but at his age, Lucius felt like memorizing every twitch and squirm. This was surely to be his last time receiving such a gift and he didn’t want to miss a moment of it; especially not with his heir. He would need the extra time of full retirement, to ensure that this child, in particular, shed the Potter name and retained only the Malfoy one. Auror Potter had refused his offer, which meant the showdown for last name dominancy was back on.

            What Auror Potter did not know was that Lucius had an unfair advantage with the primary school: he and his wife frequently volunteered at the school, he was on the board of governors, he provided the largest share of the school’s operating costs, and his ancestors had built the school in the first place. The Malfoy family was the reason the Wiltshire primary school was the best in the country and as such, all three of the children, even Edward who was a Lupin, boasted of being Malfoys. While judging a spelling bee, Lucius had once overheard Edward tell another boy that he was a Malfoy and a Black on his grandmother’s side. Instead of correcting Edward, Lucius had backed the child up and encouraged it. He planned on being even more present in Lynx’s life. After all, Lucius needed to groom the child to take over the Malfoy estate one day and that would require time. Auror Potter did not stand a chance.

            “ _More_ time with them? Don’t you think you already spend enough time with them?” Harry asked. By the way his children spoke constantly of their wonderful grandfather, he got the impression that they saw more than enough of the man. Leo in particular, practically lived at Malfoy Manor, because that was where Leo’s abraxans and peacocks were kept. They just didn’t have the yard space for animals or a Quidditch pitch at Grimmauld, so for those sort of activities, the children flooed to the Manor.

            “Not at all. I plan to devote my remaining years to teaching them everything I know,” Lucius replied.

            “Did you want to stop by and see Cor today, dear? Andromeda, Molly, and I can handle the children on our own if you need to step out,” Narcissa said.

            “Yes, I think I should. He needs to have the parchments drawn up to make Lynx here my official heir. It shouldn’t take long; no more than half an hour to apparate there and relay the news,” Lucius replied.

            “You are making Lynx your heir? After all of these years of refusing to name one?” Harry asked incredulously. He had no doubt that this news would piss Draco off. It had irked Draco constantly that Lucius had refused to choose either Lily or Leo for an heir.

            “Yes, I was waiting for him to come along. I think he will make the finest heir I could possibly hope for. All I need is the exact spelling of his full name. I trust you will allow me to obtain a copy of the birth certificate on my way out.” Lucius raised an eyebrow, silently daring Harry to refuse.

            In the long run, it didn’t matter whether Harry did or not, because ultimately the parents would have to turn over a birth certificate for every child they produced; it was in the marriage contract, after all, as necessary information for ensuring that each child was included in the will. Lynx would inherit the majority of the Malfoy assets, but there would be a fine dowry for Lily and several priceless heirlooms for Leo too. Lucius wouldn’t want to snub either of the other two and drive them to using the Potter name. As it was, there was no end to the joy he felt when the Potter heir gave his last name as Malfoy.

            There was a knock on the door then and a head of mostly grey, with just a few strands left of red, hair poked around the door. “May we come in?” Molly Weasley whispered.

            Harry was saved then from further agitation by his father-in-law by the Weasley clan. Most of the Weasley grandchildren were in school, but the three who were not yet old enough for school were there in their parents’ arms, waiting to see the newest member of the family. Percy and his wife each carried one of their young daughters, ages four and two, while Ron carried three-year-old Rose. Hermione was by Ron’s side, heavily pregnant with a boy they planned to name Hugo. Bill and George were there too along with their wives, with Arthur Weasley bringing up the rear of the group.

            “Actually, Draco’s sleeping. We should probably move out into the waiting room,” Harry whispered back, stepping forward to take Lynx from Narcissa.

            The Weasleys made room for Harry and the baby as he carried his son out into the waiting room. Narcissa followed graciously, patiently watching from a distance, while Lucius scowled at the interruption. Harry, being the parent, always got the final say, leaving Lucius with little recourse but to complain to his son. Draco was in no condition to hear it at the moment, so there was nothing to be done about it. Thus Lucius stayed in the room, by Draco’s bed. He fetched a glass of water and murmured reassurances when Draco stirred. And best of all, when Draco wanted the baby back in the room without extra Weasleys attached, Lucius got to deliver the word.

            All of the Weasleys left then, with the exception of Arthur and Molly, who stayed around in order to see if they could help with the older three children’s impending visit. Once Draco was awake and Lynx fed, word was sent to Dromeda, who then flooed over with Leo, Teddy, and Lily. The three children clamored to get a look at their newest sibling, Teddy being the most excited. Lily was excited because she did like babies, but this one was replacing her as the baby in the family, making her jealous. Leo was in the same boat, jealous that he was no longer the only biological son. Leo hadn’t been expecting to feel so jealous, initially happy to be having a new sibling, but one look at the baby told him that this one looked more like a Malfoy than the rest of them combined, and that sent the jealous lion in him roaring.

            “Can I hold him, Father? PaPa?” Teddy asked eagerly. He always referred to Draco and Harry as his parents, just like Leo and Lily did. He knew that he had another set of parents who had died fighting side by side during the Great War. They were war heroes and he was proud of them, but he was also ten and Harry and Draco were the only parents he ever knew. He wanted to fit in with his adoptive siblings in his adoptive family and had been referring to Draco and Harry as his parents for as long as he could remember.

            The formal aristocratic sounding titles were reserved for when Lucius and Narcissa were present. At home the children all called Harry, Papa, and Draco was Daddy. At the tender age of fourteen months Teddy had been the first to call Draco Da-o, since Leo had up until that point called both of his parents Pa. It was obvious that Teddy had been trying to say Draco, so Dromeda and Draco had both encouraged it. Draco had been smug with pleasure that his was the second name Teddy had ever said, Ee-o for Leo, being the first. Leo, wanting to get in on the excitement Teddy was creating, soon echoed the new word. Harry had come home to a pair of toddlers exclaiming Da-o and thought they were saying Dad-o. During moments alone with the boys, he thus began referring to Draco as Dad-o. It caught on and by the time Lily could talk, morphed into Daddy. Now it was Dad most of the time, but Daddy when they wanted something and Father at school or in front on the Malfoy side of the family.

            Draco took an appraising look at his clumsiest child, then eyed Harry in silent communication, before saying, “Alright, but only if you sit on the settee and your Grandmothers help you.”

            There was indeed a settee in the room, which Harry planned to sleep on that night, not wanting to leave his husband or their newest bundle of joy. Teddy ran to it in two big leaps, his muggle trainers squeaking on the floor as he went, and forcefully plopped himself down, practically jumping on the thing. He did try to act dignified when his Malfoy grandparents were present, but he was so excited and this wasn’t Malfoy Manor or Wiltshire Primary, so he forgot.

            Molly came fully into the room then, leaving Arthur alone in their previous position at the doorway, and sat down next to Teddy. Dromeda squeezed in on the other side of her grandson and together she and Molly reminded Teddy of the rules for holding a baby. Once Teddy repeated every rule word for word and promised to be extra careful, Harry brought baby Lynx over and handed him off to Molly. Molly then shifted Lynx over to Teddy’s lap, keeping her own hands supporting the newborn’s neck and bottom. Dromeda showed Teddy how to cradle the baby, which Teddy copied for a few minutes. He then left the holding to Grandmother Molly in favor of using his hands to gently stroke his new brother’s little face and soft pale blond hair, before trying to peek inside the tightly wrapped blanket, wanting to see the rest of tiny bundle.

            Leo and Lily looked on for a few moments, before Lily turned to seek Draco’s attention, wanting to reaffirm that _she_ was still his precious baby girl. Draco patted a free spot on the bed next to him and Harry lifted Lily up to fill it, instructing her to be careful, because Draco was sore. Lily moved slowly and carefully and was soon lying in Draco’s arms, hugging her Daddy tightly.

            Leo, meanwhile, went to his Malfoy grandparents for attention, claiming a spot on Narcissa’s lap, which he was already too tall for but unwilling to give up. “Grandmother, Grandfather, Great Aunt Dromeda said we are to go over to the Burrow after. Do we have to? Can we not go home with you? I want to fly Pegasus and I need to check on Stardust; she’s having a baby too, you know.” At home his language wasn’t so precise, but he long ago learned that speaking properly, as his teachers called it, went a long way to pleasing his Malfoy side of the family. When he wanted something from them, he always spoke as properly as he could and referred to them as Grandmother and Grandfather.

            Pegasus and Stardust were two of the abraxans kept at Malfoy Manor. Pegasus, in particular, had been given to Leo on his second birthday, when she was just a foal. For the first year, Leo had simply run alongside her, and had learned the basics about feeding, watering, and grooming. When he was three, she started to fly, but was already receiving lessons from a professional abraxan trainer, so she knew not to take off too close to her boy. By the time he was four, Leo was riding Stardust on the ground and by five, he was harnessed in and allowed to take off into the sky.

            Lily and Teddy had also been given abraxans at young ages, but neither of them were as obsessed with their winged horses as Leo was. Sure, they liked to ride and loved to fly, but they weren’t interested in the breeding and grooming like Leo. And they certainly didn’t bother with the animals in the stable that weren’t theirs; in total there were a dozen abraxans at Malfoy Manor, soon to be a dozen and one.

            “The place of the Lord and Lady Malfoy is at the bedside of the Malfoy heir when every new Malfoy is born and that is exactly where I plan to stay,” Lucius said proudly. “The elves can care for all of the animals for one day.”

            “But Grandfather! The elves aren’t good enough! And I did not finish with the peacocks before Great Aunt Dromeda said we had to go!” Leo complained.

            “Did you turn the eggs?” Lucius asked. Every spring the peahens that were free to roam the Manor grounds began laying eggs. Some of the eggs, the hens reared themselves, renewing the Manor population, but a portion were always abandoned. In the past the house elves had been allowed to cook with the abandoned eggs, but for the last two years, Leo had insisted on incubating and rearing these eggs and resulting peachicks himself. When the birds were mature, Lucius helped Leo sell them as pets. Lucius ensured that a decent price was paid so that the operation turned a profit and Leo made sure the birds were going to good homes.

            “Yes,” Leo answered.

            “Did you feed the chicks and make sure they have water?” Lucius asked another.

            “Yes.”

            “Then what is the problem, dear Grandson?”

            “It was too cold in the incubator room! I told Pepper to fix it, but it was still too cold when we left!” Leo whined.

            “Leo, you know as well as I that the temperature must be changed gradually. Pepper would harm the birds if he raised the temperature instantly. I am sure the elf cast a gradual heating charm, just like he is supposed to,” Lucius reassured.

            “But elves aren’t reliable. I need to go back and make sure it’s right before nightfall,” Leo protested.

            “I will check the incubator when I return home tonight. You need not worry,” Lucius reassured.

            “Leo, I am under the impression that Grandmother Molly needs your help with her chickens. She told me that one of the chicks is ill and she needs you to come over and help nurse it,” Narcissa said, hoping to distract her grandson from his current course and get him interested in spending a bit of time with his other grandparents.

            “Great Aunt Dromeda _did_ tell me that…” Leo admitted.

            “Arthur, would you come here a minute?” Lucius called to the wizard still standing by the door.

            “Yes, Lucius?” Arthur asked evenly. He wasn’t fond of Lucius Malfoy, but they were typically on speaking terms, due to their shared grandchildren. The glowers and stares they exchanged that first year after Harry and Draco’s marriage had stopped too, when the children had grown old enough to notice and ask what was wrong.

            “Our eldest grandson here is not convinced that his talents are required with your chickens this evening. Can you tell us what sort of treatment this chick needs?” Lucius asked. He didn’t like the other wizard, but he knew better than to start something, especially here and now.

            Arthur then proceeded to describe the potion that needed to be brewed to treat the chick’s infection and what else needed to be done to ensure the chick lived. George, the best non-pregnant potions expert in the family, had promised to stop by with Angelina and their two children, to brew said potion. Since it was a relatively simple and hazard-free potion, George was planning on letting the children help with the preparation and watch the brewing.

            Uncle George was a favorite among the Malfoy Potter children, because he always came with something interesting to show them. Aunt Angelina was cool too, affectionate with her many nieces and nephews. Plus, their two children, Fred and Roxanne, were only a few years younger than them, so they could do stuff together. That side of the family was far more exciting than the rest of the Weasleys.

            Uncle Ron always came with Aunt Hermione, the aunt with too many rules and who was snappy when pregnant. Being only six weeks behind Draco in her pregnancy, Hermione had been snappy for months now. Then there was their three year old know-it-all Rose. Rose would whine until the adults forced the big kids to take her along, slowing them down. Lily, Leo, and Teddy had once liked Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione best, but ever since Rose was conceived, that had changed. Four years was a long time for young children and now they could hardly remember how much fun that particular aunt and uncle used to be.

            Uncle Charlie was never around, so they didn’t really know him, although they wished they did, because Charlie’s work with dragons was fascinating. Uncle Percy was a pretentious git that no one liked. Aunt Ginny had a new boyfriend every time they saw her and no time for any of her nieces or nephews, in particular the Malfoy Potter ones. Uncle Bill was cool, but Uncle George was the favorite with Leo and Teddy.

            Lily preferred Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur, but only because of their daughters. Their oldest daughter, Victoire, was two months older than Lily and in the same year in school. Their middle child, Dominique, was only two years younger, so she and Roxanne were in the same year. Dominique and Roxanne were close enough in age to Lily and Victoire that the four of them would split off and form their own little group at Weasley family functions. Their son, little Louis, was three, like Rose, but not nearly as annoying to the older kids. He either stuck with his parents, or if Rose was there, diverted her attention away from the older kids.

            “Uncle George is coming over?” Lily asked, her head perking up from where it had been laying in the crook of Draco’s arm. Before she’d always laid her head on Draco’s chest, but for months now Draco’s chest had been too sensitive, so she’d learned to snuggle into his armpit instead.

            “Uncle George?” Teddy asked with excitement, momentarily forgetting the baby Molly was holding in his lap.

            Molly quickly retracted the baby and began cooing at adorable little Lynx herself. That was a good thing too, because only moments later Teddy jumped up to join Leo next to Grandfather Arthur, who was confirming that the entire Uncle George branch of the family was expected over. Dromeda scooted closer to Molly to get her own closer look at the baby.

            The three older children began asking about what else Uncle George might be bringing in terms of Weasley Wizard Wheezes products. Lily sat up in Draco’s bed, mindful of her father, and suggested that Uncle George might bring some of those awesome whiz bangs, like he did for the last Weasley family birthday party. While she spoke, she acted out the pyrotechnic display with her hands, the way Draco always did when he told stories. Leo copied the gesture, while Teddy changed his hair color in rapid succession, to mimic the explosion of color the whiz bangs created in the sky.

            “Alright you three, you are getting a little too rowdy. If you don’t settle down, you’ll have to go,” Harry warned, standing by Draco’s bedside facing the boys, before turning to look his daughter in the eyes. “Especially you Lily-flower. Your dad has been through a lot today and if you want to talk to your brothers, you’ll have to get down.”

            “Wait a minute PaPa. Lily, do you want to hold your baby brother before you go?” Draco asked softly, wanting his older children to love their new sibling as much as he did. “I think he looks like you, but not quite as pretty.”

            Lily preened at the compliment, happy that she was still the prettiest and that the new baby looked more like her than like Leo. Suddenly, she did want to see the new baby and nodded eagerly. “Oh can I, Father?”

            Draco confirmed that she could, if she settled herself back down. Harry retrieved Lynx from Molly and deposited the baby in Draco’s free arm. Lily was then able to lean over and get a proper look, unconsciously moving one hand to stroke his face and the other grasping the blue blanket.

            “Careful there, Lily love. Gentle touches,” Draco reminded his daughter, moving the hand from the blue blanket, for fear she’d put weight on it.

            “He doesn’t really look like me,” Lily said, scrunching up her face. “He looks like Uncle Percy’s dog!” Percy had an English Bulldog with a scrunched up, wrinkly face.

            “Let me see!” Leo exclaimed, climbing off of Narcissa’s lap in order to clamber at the side of Draco’s bed, opposite Lily, where the best view of the baby was to be had. “No he doesn’t! He looks like Great Grandmother Malfoy!”

            Not that the two would ever be present side by side, because Lucius’ very old mother still hated babies, but there was indeed a resemblance between the old wrinkly witch and baby Lynx. The resemblance was two-fold, because Lynx shared a lot of her features and his face was a tad wrinkly and puffy, superficially mimicking the wrinkles that covered the old witch’s face. Leo and Lily both smiled as they thought of Great Grandmother Malfoy and how she wanted nothing to do with the new baby. They would still be the only great grandchildren in her eyes for years to come, unlike Great Grandmother Black, who had been positively gushing about the prospects of the new baby for months now.

            “Lily, Leo, be nice now. All newborns look like this. In a month or so, the wrinkles and puffiness will smooth out and then you will see his face properly. He looks like Daddy, you’ll see,” Harry said.

            “And Lily looks like me, so he will look like Lily too,” Draco added, not wanting Lily to be left out.

            “But he has my lips!” Leo spotted, wanting to claim part of the baby for himself.

            “That he does. Your forehead too, I think,” Harry encouraged.

            “He looks like me, then,” Leo concluded happily.

            “He looks more like me,” Lily challenged.

            During this exchange, Teddy moved to stand by Leo’s side, peering down at the baby in concentration as he changed his own features to closely mimic those of his newborn brother. “He looks the most like me,” Teddy said, once he thought he had perfected the transformation. His eyes were large now, like a baby’s, and surrounded by deep creases in the eyelids. His face was round and swollen, like Lynx’s, and his hair and eyes clear. It looked alright on a newborn, but coming from a walking talking ten year old, it was creepy. Draco recoiled instinctively, shielding the baby without thinking.

            “Change back Teddy, you need to work on that one more before you show it in public,” Harry said. He never wanted to discourage the boy, but he also didn’t want Teddy’s feelings to be hurt by realizing that an impersonation was scaring someone. Thus he encouraged Teddy to sit in front of the mirror and practice, before showing off.

            Teddy did change, but not back to neutral. Rather he took on the pale blond hair, grey eyes, and pointy features that had already been approved for use around the Malfoys.

            “Good. Actually, I think you look more like Lynx like this Teddy,” Harry commented and Teddy beamed.

            “Now you look like the proper big brother. The five of you make a picture perfect family. Smile now,” Lucius said, his camera suddenly in hand as he positioned himself to capture the scene.

            They smiled, looking at the camera, and Lucius snapped a few shots. Harry leaned down and kissed first Lynx’s little head and then Draco’s lips. Lucius kept clicking away at his camera, capturing the tender moments.

            “It’s my turn to hold the baby,” Leo said.

            It was indeed Leo’s turn, so Harry picked up the baby and sat down with Lynx on the settee, which Molly had vacated in favor of standing by her husband’s side. Dromeda was still sitting there, but there was plenty of room between them for Leo to sit down, which he did. Harry held Lynx over Leo’s lap as Molly had done for Teddy and Dromeda showed Leo where to place his arms. Unlike Teddy, Leo had a lot of experience with baby animals, and took to it instinctively; he’d had to be careful not to hurt all of the baby peachicks, owls, and abraxans he’d helped rear over the years. Leo’s right hand covered Harry’s at the base of Lynx’s neck and the left cradled the tiny body close to his own small body. Sensing that Leo had this, Harry moved his hands out from under Leo’s hands to on top of his son’s hands. He thought Leo would probably be alright holding the baby without help, but he kept his hands in place just in case.

            Lynx opened his pale eyes, looked straight into Leo’s green eyes, and cooed.            Leo’s resulting smile was wide and exuberant. “Did you hear that? He said my name! He looked at me and said my name!” in his excitement, he pulled Lynx a little too close, squashing the baby slightly, but Lynx didn’t seem to mind.

            “Careful Leo,” Dromeda said, tugging backwards on Leo’s right shoulder.

            “Opps. Sorry. Are you alright there Lynx?” Leo asked concerned as he relaxed and shifted the baby back to the original position.

            “Ooo,” Lynx repeated.

            “He said my name again!” Leo exclaimed, but did not budge his hold this time.

            “He said, ‘Ooo.’ Since when is your name Ooo?” Lily asked sarcastically.

            “Don’t listen to her Ooo, she’s just jealous,” Teddy said, snickering.

            “Leo, if you want to let him call you Ooo, then that is fine with me. You’re a great big brother,” Harry encouraged. After all, Ooo wasn’t all that different from Ee-o, which was what Teddy had called Leo.

            “Lily love, Father is tired. How about you climb down and tease your brother over there,” Draco suggested, pointing at his boys.

            “Here Lady Lily, let Grandfather help you down,” Lucius said, standing up and stepping forward to help his granddaughter down off of the bed.

            “I think it’s time we get going,” Molly said as Lily took her place by Teddy’s side, watching Leo with Lynx.

            “He’s looking at Leo! He didn’t look at me,” Lily observed jealously.

            “He didn’t look at me either,” Teddy added, his lower lip out in a pout.

            “Babies don’t open their eyes much at first. He’ll look at both of you soon,” Harry replied.

            “But his eyes are still open! Hey Lynx! Lynxy, baby, look at me! I’m your sister Lily,” Lily said leaning down obnoxiously close to the baby and trying to position her head within the baby’s line of sight, which was still angled toward Leo’s face. Her long blond hair fell in Lynx’s face.

            “No Lynx, look at me!” Teddy exclaimed, catching on to the excitement.

            Lynx let out a soft cry of protest at the loud voices and the hair in his face.

            “That is enough you two. Out in the waiting room this minute,” Molly ordered sternly.

            Dromeda seconded Molly with a stern look and a, “Go.”

            “But we didn’t do anything!” Lily complained as Molly took her by the upper arm and pulled her towards the door. Dromeda stood to do the same with Teddy, but Teddy was a step ahead of his grandmother and willingly followed Molly and Lily out of the door, saving himself the embarrassment. Arthur followed after Dromeda, not wanting to be trapped in a room full of Malfoys with no backup other than Harry.

            Dromeda let Arthur go ahead of her. Then she looked over her shoulder and said, “Don’t worry; we will have a talk with them and remind them of proper behavior around infants,” before she followed the others out of the door.

            Lynx closed his eyes and snuggled peacefully into Leo’s arms now that the irritating children were out of the room.

            “He’s asleep again Leo. You did really well with him; I’m proud of you,” Harry said.

            “Thanks,” Leo said with a shrug, which jostled the baby slightly, but Lynx didn’t stir. “Opps.”

            “It’s alright. Let me put him down,” Harry said, removing Lynx from Leo’s arms and taking the baby towards the bassinette in the room. But before he made it all of the way there, Lucius opened his arms for his chance to hold the baby and Harry changed course. He eyed Lucius, then glanced at Draco whose eyes were closed, before quickly concluding that it was only fair to give the wizard a chance to hold Lynx too. Thus he handed the baby over and turned back to Leo. “What do you say we go out into the waiting room and see what trouble your brother and sister are in?”

            “Alright,” Leo replied with another shrug. He stood up and let Harry wrap an arm around his shoulder as they left the room together. “Lynx _did_ like me best, didn’t he?”

            “For now, because you treated him right. If that changes, his preference will chance just as fast,” Harry warned.

            They caught the tail end of the lecture Molly was giving about using your indoor voice around babies and not fighting over them. Leo smiled smugly at his siblings, gloating over the fact that he hadn’t needed a lecture.

            Harry thanked Molly, Arthur, and Dromeda for their help and then saw the lot of them to the floo. When they were gone, the silence felt like a relief. He missed his children already, but he was too tired to deal with the fighting and he knew Draco was even more tired. It wouldn’t be long before Lynx would be hungry again and Draco’s nap would be over. It seemed that every time Draco closed his eyes, half an hour later he was up again. Harry remembered how tired Draco had been when Lily was born and wanted to take as much of the strain off of his husband as possible. That was why he was taking the next six weeks off from work to help out at home.

            Walking back into Draco’s hospital room, Harry saw the peaceful look on Draco’s sleeping face and smiled. Narcissa and Lucius remained, Lucius holding Lynx, but they were still and quiet. He went back to his position by Draco’s side, right where he wanted to be.

            Harry had thought he loved Draco before, back when they’d started courting. He had really loved Draco then, he was sure of it, but his heart had grown when they made Lily and his love for Draco with it. He’d felt like he was going to burst with love for his small family that day in early summer when Lily had been born. Through the years, his love had only grown and now, looking down at the husband who had just given him yet another perfect child, his heart felt like it was bursting with love all over again. He couldn’t be happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I surprise any of you with the ending? What do you think of the children and baby Lynx?  
> Please review!


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